Tale of A Miko Kunoichi
by Jumpingbeans480
Summary: Orphaned as a child, Kagome is raised by Minato. This is the journey of her childhood as she matures and grows. She lives her life as the last Miko of her clan and also as a Kunoichi of Konoha, even finding love in the most unexpected places. On Hiatus.
1. Prologue: Little Sister

Tale of A Miko Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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Prologue: Little Sister

The Yellow Flash of Konoha, Namikaze Minato cursed silently as he arrived at his destination in a flash of yellow. His sharp ice blue eyes shone with sorrow and his fists clenched tightly at the scene before him. The Higurashi Shrine now lay in ruins. There were dead bodies strewn everywhere and the place reeked strongly of death. Small fires were burning all around and there appeared to be no survivors of this attack.

Despite being nicknamed the Yellow Flash and being known for his speed at the young age of 14, Minato had still managed to arrive late, and his tardiness cost the entire Higurashi clan their lives. Minato let out a bitter laugh as he stared at the ground. Because of him; the entire clan lost their lives. Maybe if he had arrived earlier, he could have saved a few people.

He had failed everyone, especially his…father.

The man had written him a letter, asking him for help. In that letter, he had informed Minato it was rumored that the Higurashi Clan was going to be attacked by a Tailed Beast anytime now. And it was no wonder; the Higurashi were was well known for their roles as priests and priestesses gifted with amazing purification abilities able to kill demons. So naturally they had made many enemies with the demons that they had killed.

Anyway, Minato had never heard from his father ever since he was a young boy of 4.

It was mainly because the man had abandoned him and his mother to marry another woman; the High Priestess of the Higurashi Clan. When his father had left Minato was angry at the man, because his mother had cried for many days after his departure. And her life had eventually withered away in depression. Needless to say, Minato wasn't on _particularly_ good terms with his father.

But the man was his father and he was always going to be his father; no facts could change that. So with an uncertain heart Minato had decided to help him.

His decision to help them also had to do with the fact that it involved the Tailed Beasts. A Tailed Beast, also known as Bijuu, always had something to do with Konoha since the Shodaime Hokage could control all of the nine Bijuu.

And as a Ninja of Konoha, Minato felt that it was his responsibility to try and help.

But Konoha was in the middle of the Third Great Ninja War with the hidden villages in the Earth Country and the Lightning Country; mainly Iwagakure and Kumogakure. So he had to wait a while before the Sandaime Hokage had considered his request and allowed him to leave Konoha for a while. The main reason why the Sandaime Hokage let him leave was because Minato had deliberately brought up the rumour that a Bijuu was possibly going to attack the shrine.

'_But in the end, the time wait still made me too late,_' he thought bitterly.

Because of him, innocent lives were lost. Minato looked up again and he had a determined look on his face. He had to at least try and search for survivors. But the possibility of him finding survivors were very slim; everything was in ruins.

Minato could detect the residue of chakra left behind by the attack. The chakra felt sinister, and evil.

It was tainted and unlike anything he had ever come across before. Now Minato was certain that it was indeed a Bijuu that had attacked. He had to narrow down the suspects and find out which one was the one that attacked the Shrine.

The Ichibi no Shukaku was still sealed in Sunagakure no Sato. The Niibi no Neko was within a Jinchuuriki in Kumogakure no Sato. The Sanbi no Kyodaigame was within a Jinchuuriki in Kirigakure no Sato. The Yonbi no Saru was within a Jinchuuriki that belonged to Iwagakure no Sato. The Gobi no Irukauma was in another Jinchuuriki that also belonged to Iwagakure no Sato. The Rokubi no Namekuji was imbued within a Ninja from Kirigakure.

The Shichibi no Kabutomushi was imbued with a Jinchuuriki from Takigakure no Sato. And lastly the Hachibi no Kyogyuu was imbued within a Ninja that belonged to Kumogakure no Sato. The only Bijuu that was free without a Jinchuuriki was the Kyuubi no Youko, and it was the strongest out of all the Bijuu. Minato looked up and cursed. That was a problem.

The Shrine had been attacked by the Kyuubi no Youko.

There was now an almost zero possibility that there were any survivors. Even though most of the people from the Higurashi Shrine were spiritually gifted, Minato doubted that they could stand the demonic chakra of the Kyuubi no Youko and live to tell the tale. The chakra was sinister and very overpowering. Normal civilians that were not trained in the ways of the Ninja wouldn't be able to stand it.

Nevertheless, Minato would never know if there were indeed no survivors until he tried.

He took out some of his specially marked three pointed Kunai and threw it near some bodies. Then using his Hiraishin no Jutsu, he appeared by each and every person, checking for a pulse, something that would determine that they were alive.

But so far, he found nothing.

As he appeared in front of one particular person, pain flashed in his ice blue eyes as he recognized the man who had left him and his mother 10 years ago, the man whom was his father. The woman clad in a priestess outfit beside his father was dead. But hope flashed through Minato's eyes when he realized that the man was still alive.

He could still save someone.

When he was gathering his chakra for his Hiraishin to return back to Konoha, something gripped his vest. Minato lost his concentration for a moment and he looked at his father, who was the one that grabbed him. Minato was the spitting image of his father; he had even inherited his father's blond hair and blue eyes. But now, he could see that his father's blue eyes were dull, and he looked like he was dying.

"M-Minato…you came…" the man choked out softly. Minato nodded and he replied "I'm sorry but I came too late."

The man smiled weakly as he started to cough out more blood. Minato tried to focus his chakra again for his Hiraishin but his father told him "You're wasting y-your time Minato. It's over…for me. Don't…bother…helping me."

Minato shook his head and he tried to focus his chakra again, but the man gripped the vest even harder and pulled him down to eye level with him.

"Minato…listen to me please. I-I'm sorry f-for leaving you and your mother. I know it m-must have hurt her a lot. I-I loved her… I really did. B-but before I m-met her, I al-already had a marriage agreement to th-this clan that I couldn't break. I-I know that I h-have no right to ask you b-but can you forgive m-me?"

The man started to cough more blood and Minato could sense that his life was fading fast.

"I need to get you to a hospital," Minato hesitated for a moment "Father…" The man smiled peacefully, knowing that his son had forgiven him, even only it was just a little bit. "Minato, I need t-to ask a favor of you," he told his son in a rushed tone. "Somewhere out there, at the bottom of a dried up well, is my daughter. Your half-sister, Kagome. Please f-find her, and if she is a-alive, t-take care o-of her. P-please, I'm begging you…"

Minato nodded; accepting this dying request was the least he could do to make his father go without worries.

His father smiled and let out deep sigh of relief "Thank you…my son…" His hand went limp and he breathed his last. Minato closed his eyes, offered a small prayer and for a small moment as he felt a sad pang in his heart.

After a few more minutes of silence, he stood up and looked around.

He had to find that well, where at the bottom, lay his half-sister, who might possibly still be alive. Minato started to hastily scour around the ruins. And he even used some of his chakra to make a few Kage Bunshin to quicken the search.

He continued his search and an image flashed in his head when one of his Kage Bunshin was dispelled.

Now he knew the location of the well. Minato used his Shunshin no Jutsu to get to the well faster. And when he bent over to check, like his father had said, there was someone at the bottom of the well.

Minato jumped in without hesitation and landed next to the person who was supposedly his half-sister. She was emitting a pinkish glow and there was a small barrier surrounding her, which surprised Minato. She must have been gifted with high purification abilities to be able to make a barrier at her age. Her barrier must have saved her life in the attack. And since she was still powering the barrier, it must have been that she was alive.

Just to be sure, Minato tried to reach out for her, but he was repelled by the barrier. His hand sizzled slightly at the contact and he hissed softly in pain. It looks like he couldn't touch her. Maybe he could get her to wake up and lift the barrier.

So he called out softly "Kagome-chan. Can you hear me? Kagome-chan?"

His half-sister, Kagome, she looked to be about 5 years old. She had black hair and currently Minato couldn't see what eye color she had. Minato continued to call out softly to her, trying to get her to wake up. Minato didn't know if she was asleep or unconscious, but he could only hope that she would wake up soon.

"Kagome-chan?" Minato called again.

He was starting to think that she really was unconscious, that is…until she gave a small moan and opened her eyes. She had the same shade of blue eyes that Minato and his father did, the yellow haired Ninja mused to himself. Kagome's eyes were unfocused for a moment, before they landed on Minato and she became alert.

"W-who are you?" she asked him timidly. Minato flashed her an encouraging smile and told her kindly "My name is Minato. I'm here to help you. Are you all right? Are you injured?"

"No, not that I can tell. I only have a few scrapes. Nothing serious," she responded. And Minato was surprised. She didn't appear to talk like a 5 year old. The words she used and the way she used them were advanced for a child her age.

"Okay then. Can you undo the barrier for me please?"

Kagome shook her head and she replied "No I can't. Sorry Minato-san. Okaa-san said I'm not supposed to let down the barrier, no matter what happens. Where is Okaa-san anyway? Why did Okaa-san put me down here? And where is Otou-san? Have you seen him?"

As Minato watched her innocence, he somehow didn't have the heart to tell her that both her parents were dead.

He looked grim for a moment, and was silent. Kagome looked at Minato's pained expression and understanding flashed through her eyes. "Oh, I see, they're both dead…aren't they?" she asked him quietly. Minato nodded numbly and Kagome allowed several tears to spill down her cheeks.

Minato allowed her some time to mourn for the loss of her parents before he asked again "I'm not going to harm you Kagome-chan, I promise. I want to help you. I just need you to lower your barrier so I can help you. I can't help you when I can't touch you can I?" he added with a small smile. Kagome shook her head and she looked at him. She saw him trying to be as gentle as possible in dealing with her, and she saw the good intentions in his blue eyes.

'_He has the same shade of blue as my eyes,_' she thought.

So she cautiously lowered her barriers. Minato knelt down and smiled slightly at her. He held out his hand for her and Kagome hesitantly took it. Her small fingers intertwined with his long and slender fingers and a small smile graced her lips.

"Ne, Minato-san," she began, but he cut her off.

"Call me Minato-nii-san," he told her.

"Why?" she asked him in a confused tone.

Minato honestly didn't know how to explain it to her in simpler terms. So he tried, although it probably didn't work out too well. In short, his explanation sounded pathetic. "You see, your Otou-san was also my Otou-san. We both have the same Otou-san. But our Okaa-sans are two different people. You understand?"

Kagome sighed before she asked him "So in other words, you're my half-brother right?"

Minato made a gurgled choke of shock. He was surprised that she knew what a half-sibling was. It seems that his half-sister was more mature in thinking than normal kids her age. In a way, she was similar to the genius son of the White Fang who became a Genin at 5 and a Chunin at 6.

"So, _Minato-nii_ then, where are we going?" she asked him again curiously, even emphasizing on what he asked her to call him.

Minato smiled slightly as he scooped her up in his arms. "We're going back to my home in Konohagakure no Sato. You're living with me now kid, whether you want to or not. I promised your Otou-san that I would look after you," and he grinned. "Let's get you out of this well first."

Kagome nodded and they both disappeared in a flash of yellow. They reappeared at the top of the well, and Minato whispered "It's best you don't look around."

She shook her head "No, I want to see them. I want to say goodbye to everyone one last time before we go." Minato put her down and he told her "I'm going to bury everyone, all right? So you stay here and wait for me, okay? Don't wander off and don't worry, I won't leave you."

Kagome smiled softly "I know you won't…Minato-nii."

End Prologue

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Jumpingbeans480: Well, how was the prologue? This concept has been sitting in my head for quite some time and I just had to get it out. A warning, this is probably going to be a long story. It's going to be from when Kagome is a child of 5 until she is 29.

The pairing is undecided.

I mean, she's like 5 years old here. It's a little bit too early for her finding romance. But there will still be some fluff between her and a certain someone in later chapters. Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated.

Review please!


	2. Adoption

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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Chapter 1: Adoption

Minato wiped away the beads of sweat that were starting to form on his forehead.

Burying everyone in the Higurashi clan had taken a lot more time that he had first anticipated. Well, it was no big surprise there; there were more than 50 people belonging to the Higurashi Clan. And at least Minato had managed to dig graves for everyone in the time span of a few hours before burying the graves again in another hour or more. That was already considered fast work due to the fact that there was only one of him to do the job.

It was almost daybreak now.

Minato noticed that Kagome was kneeling at the graves of their father and her mother. She was offering a silent prayer for them and everyone else in the Clan. Minato decided that it was best that he left her alone for a while. After all, she had lost her entire family in just one night and the least he could do was to let her spend some time alone with them before they left.

Who knows when they might return to this place with all the commotion that Konoha has currently going on?

'_And anyway, she didn't lose her entire family, she still has me,_' Minato thought to himself, and he grinned a little at the thought. Now he had one more person to care for, and she seemed like a pretty nice child. Whether Kagome knew it or not, she had already been added to his list of precious people that he had sworn to protect with his life.

Kagome stood up and she turned around to face Minato. She flashed him a sad smile and told him "I'm ready. We can leave now, Minato-nii."

She walked over to him and Minato bent down so he was eye to eye with her. Then he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and told her "Now, I need you to hang on tight to me okay? I'm going to use one of my Jutsu, and it'll get us back to Konoha in an hour at the least."

Kagome nodded to show she understood and Minato picked her up in his arms.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. Minato blushed slightly and how intimate she was with him; she must have probably trusted him with her life already. But he remained silent as he willed for his blush to fade away. He felt the heat leave his cheeks so he started to gather his chakra but then he lost his concentration when he felt something wet seep through his vest and stain his black shirt.

Minato frowned as he looked up at the sky; there were no clouds so it wasn't raining and the part where Kagome lay her head on his shoulder was the only part wet. So Minato could only conclude that his sister was silently crying to herself.

'_She's a strong girl,_' he thought.

She was indeed a strong girl. She had tried to put on a brave front so she wouldn't seem weak in front of Minato and her dead parents. But she did lose all her family members and friends in this attack, and she was only a 5 year old girl. No matter how brave a person was, in these circumstances even the bravest of people would crack as well.

Minato placed his hand on her back and patted it in a soothing way.

"There, there," he tried to comfort her. Kagome only tightened her hold on his neck and Minato made a choking noise. Her grip had been suffocating him. Kagome immediately loosened her grip on him and she apologized softly "I'm sorry."

Minato smiled slightly and he whispered in her ear kindly "It's all right. You know that it's not shameful to cry or show your tears Kagome-chan. When you cry, it doesn't mean that you're weak at all. Crying and showing emotion is what makes us human, it tells us that we're able to feel and we are not just some mindless and soulless living creatures. Pain are suffering are some of the things that we feel and while they are not exactly the most pleasant of feelings, that's true, but bear in mind that we can also feel happiness and love. It just takes time, and gradually time heals all wounds."

Minato knew that his words had reached her when Kagome started to cry more loudly. He continued to comfort her as she cried, soothing her, and patting her back. Minato remembered a lullaby that his mother used to sing for him every time he was frightened or sad.

Maybe it would calm her down like it did for him.

So he chose to sing it for Kagome. And he changed the last part of the lullaby to suit the purpose of singing this to her. He changed it from 'Okaa-san' to 'Aniki'. (AN: Aniki can mean elder brother. I also borrowed the melody of the lullaby from Naruto Movie 1 OST 'Yukie Fujikaze's theme'. You can find it on youtube. The lullaby is sung to this music and I came up with the lyrics myself, but the music does not belong to me.)

Minato began softly in a gentle voice

"_Don't cry, be brave  
Go dry off those tears  
I'll always be here  
To protect you with my life_

_Go sleep, and dream  
Everything is fine  
I want you to know that  
I'll never leave your side_

_Come, in my arms  
I won't let go  
You'll never fall  
I'm there to catch you  
Don't be afraid __I am always here  
Always  
Till the end of time_

_No tears, cheer up,  
Come give me a smile  
And I promise you that  
Everything will be all right_

_It'll be our deal  
Aniki loves you_  
_I'll always be with you__…__"_

By the time he finished singing the lullaby, Kagome had already quietened down. Her arms were still around his neck and she whispered softly "Thanks, Minato-nii, I like that lullaby, it's nice…" Minato smiled softly and Kagome's arms loosened from around his neck.

She lifted her head off his shoulder and Minato could see that her blue eyes were puffy and red, but despite that she still smiled at him.

"That is our special lullaby between us, and it's from me to you, brother to sister," he told her in a gentle tone. Kagome nodded "I'd like that very much, Minato-nii," she told him and Minato's smile grew bigger. "Good, then let's go home."

And then he started gathering his chakra. He used his Hiraishin no Jutsu and they disappeared in a flash of yellow and black, just as the sun started to peek over the horizon.

* * *

In the Hokage office at Konohagakure no Sato, the Sandaime Hokage was puffing on his pipe as he listened to one of the scouting Ninja give his report. "The Iwa Ninja have camped out at the borders of Fire Country, but they're not making any moves so far. What do you command we do, Hokage-sama?" the Ninja asked.

Sarutobi replied "We can only wait until they attack. Monitor the Iwa Ninja, and make sure that they do not cross our borders. And if they do, make sure they have a permit with them."

The Ninja bowed politely. "Understood, Hokage-sama," he said before he formed a couple of hand seals and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sarutobi waited several moments after the Ninja had gone. Then he sighed deeply and rubbed his temples.

The war was extremely vexing.

In his life, Sarutobi Hiruzen had lived through two wars; the Second Great Ninja War and the current Third Great Ninja War, so it was pretty obvious that he was not a fan of war. Death, bloodshed, pain, suffering, nothing good ever came out of war.

He despised war.

However, it was necessary if you wanted to survive. 'Kill or be killed'. Such was the life of a Ninja, he lamented sadly. There was a knock on the door and Sarutobi straightened himself up. "Come in," he called out tiredly.

The door opened and in stepped his student, one of the Densetsu no Sannin, also known as the Toad Sage Jiraiya.

"What do you want to see me for Jiraiya?" Sarutobi asked him in a weary tone. He had been up the whole night reading through mission documents and he was already exhausted. The scout's news had made him even more mentally exhausted.

"I looked everywhere but I couldn't find Minato anywhere in the village. No chakra signal, no nothing. And I know that even if Minato were pulling a prank on me like the brat he is to make me worry again, he would have stopped by now and called the whole thing off. So I thought that you must have sent the kid out on a mission or something," replied Jiraiya. And Sarutobi could see the concern flash in his student's eyes for a moment.

Sarutobi shook his head "I'm sorry Jiraiya, but I didn't send Minato on a mission." Jiraiya's eyes flashed in disappointment for a moment before it changed to worry.

"Then where the hell is the kid Sarutobi-sensei?!" he yelled out worriedly. Sarutobi sighed; his student was as impatient as always. "You didn't let me finish. Minato requested some time off so that he could attend to some personal matters at home. And at the same time he could also check on something for me that concerns Konoha."

"Well, what is it?" Jiraiya snapped.

Sarutobi frowned; his student had no respect for him, that was for sure. But he couldn't really blame Jiraiya. Minato was the only survivor of the guy's Genin team, Minato's other two teammates were dead; one was killed on a mission and the other was killed in the war. Jiraiya had taken their deaths hard, blaming himself.

'_Because I am the all powerful Toad Sage and one of the Densetsu no Sannin and yet I can't even do the simple task of protecting two little kids,_' or so Jiraiya said.

"You are aware that Minato's father left him when he was just a child right?" Jiraiya nodded and Sarutobi continued "His father married a High Priestess the Higurashi clan. And there has been a rumour going on that the clan is going to be attacked by a Bijuu. Minato's own father has written him a letter requesting for his help. I approved of Minato's request to attend to this matter and Minato has already left the village yesterday morning." And Sarutobi braced himself for what was to come.

"WHAT?!?!" yelled the Toad Sage "Are you out of your mind?! Or have you gone senile in your old age?! You approved of him going?! This is a Bijuu we are talking about old man!"

"But you forget, Jiraiya, as I have said that this is only a rumour. Minato has only gone to confirm whether it is true. And please be respectful to me, if not under the status of your old sensei, then as your Hokage," Sarutobi told him in a warning sort of voice.

Jiraiya smiled sheepishly and he apologized "Right, sorry Sarutobi-sensei. I forgot, ehehe. I'm just worried about the kid you know."

"Jiraiya you really don't have to worry that much right? After all, Minato is a genius among his ranks, and I believe that achieving Jounin status despite his age is quite a feat. And not to mention he invented the Hiraishin no Jutsu, and we have already won many battles because of it even though the Jutsu is still not fully developed yet," Sarutobi told him softly.

Jiraiya opened his mouth to answer Sarutobi, but he never got the chance.

His student had appeared in front of the Hokage in a flash of yellow, and Jiraiya jumped slightly in surprise. He growled softly, his cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment. Then he proceeded to whack Minato on the head. Minato yelped in pain, and then he turned to glare at Jiraiya.

"_Jiraiya-sensei! _What was that for?" he whined in an annoyed tone. "Damn it brat, that Hiraishin no Jutsu of yours is freakin' annoying!" he yelled angrily.

'_It scared the crap out of me…' _he added to himself. But Jiraiya wouldn't tell Minato the last part, he still had his dignity to be mindful of. Minato continued to glare at his sensei, and Jiraiya continued to glare at his student.

Neither looked ready to back down.

But then Jiraiya and Sarutobi sensed another presence in the room besides the three of them, and Minato appeared to have something in his arms. Something that was wrapped in the Jounin flak jacket, and there was a trace of black at the top.

"Oi, brat, what's that you're holding?" Jiraiya asked, as he pointed to the bundle Minato had in his arms.

Kagome lifted her head of his shoulder and she yawned tiredly. She had fallen asleep on their journey back to Konoha and she had woken up a few moments Minato had yelped in pain. Now she noticed two curious pairs of eyes on her.

"Umm, Minato-nii, who are they?" she whispered softly into his ear. Minato was the only one who heard her question and he smiled thoughtfully.

"This is my sensei, Jiraiya. And that is the leader of our village, Sandaime Hokage-sama," he told her. "Can you stand on your own, Kagome-chan?" he then asked her. Kagome nodded and Minato put her down on the ground.

Minato then bowed respectfully to Sarutobi.

"Hokage-sama," he began "I am going to give you my report now. And it'll include the reason why I brought Kagome-chan over here back to Konoha." Sarutobi nodded and even the usually loud Jiraiya kept silent. They were both curious to know about Minato's report.

Jiraiya moved to stand beside Sarutobi and they both paid full attention to Minato.

"I set out and travelled to the Shrine as fast as I could, but when I got there, it was already too late. The rumours had been true. The residue of chakra left behind was too sinister for it to be from a human. I suspect that the shrine was attacked by a Bijuu, and based on the information we have, it should have been the Kyuubi. All the Jinchuuriki from the Five Great Ninja Nations will not attack without a valid reason; the Higurashi clan has always been peaceful and preferred not to associate with outsiders."

Then he paused and motioned to Kagome, who was standing beside him.

"This is Higurashi Kagome, the sole survivor of the attack on the Higurashi Shrine. She possesses great purification abilities for someone her age because she conjured up a barrier despite her young age which protected her from the sinister chakra when the Kyuubi attacked. I found her at the bottom of a dried up well and I know that my father must have put her down there. Hokage-sama, I wish to adopt her. Please allow her to live in Konoha with me in my house."

And Minato lowered his head, as if he were pleading with Sarutobi for him to consider his request.

Jiraiya held his hands up "Whoa kid, take it easy! You don't have to adopt her! Look, if you're guilty about not making it in time to help the Higurashi Clan even though you're nicknamed the Yellow Flash and all," he began and Minato winced when his sensei said that. Great, his sensei had to remind him about his error when he had just forgotten it, "there are other ways you can make it up to the girl, but adoption? Come on, Minato, you're only 14! You're not even a legalised adult yet!!"

Minato sighed and cut the man off "Jiraiya-sensei, I became a legalised adult the moment I became a Genin. Or if becoming a Genin doesn't count, then how about me becoming a Chunin or maybe even a Jounin? Or does getting sent out to the battlefield a couple of times and winning those battles count that I'm a legalised adult then?"

Jiraiya looked like a gaping fish gasping for air because he kept opening and closing his mouth, his eyes wide. Damn, when had Minato learned to talk back to him like that?

He must have learned it from hanging around that red haired former whirlpool Kunoichi too much. '_What was her name again? Oh yeah, Kushina. Uzumaki Kushina, that little tomboy. Damn it, she's corrupted him. What ever happened to the sweet and kind yellow haired brat that I taught who always hung on to every thing I said?_' Jiraiya thought sadly.

"Jiraiya-sensei, Hokage-sama, there is also another reason why I wish to adopt Kagome. You see, she is my half sister. We both have the same father," Minato added, trying to make the odds in his favour. Sarutobi continued to look at Minato calmly while Jiraiya flickered his gaze to Kagome and Minato over and over again. It was then he noticed that Kagome had the same shade of blue in her eyes as Minato.

Minato continued to stare calmly at the Hokage while Sarutobi pondered over his request.

After a while, Sarutobi smiled and nodded. "Very well then, I shall allow her to stay in Konoha and I approve of her adoption. I shall give you the documents some time later and I'll need you to sign it. I believe that she will become Namikaze Kagome now?" he asked Minato, who looked at Kagome for her answer. The choice was up to her to decide.

Kagome smiled "Sure, I like it. It sort of has a ring to it; Namikaze Kagome…" her voice trailed off in thought.

Minato laughed softly at her behaviour and he bowed to Sarutobi. "Thank you Hokage-sama. I'm very grateful for this," he told the man softly with a gentle smile on his face, and Sarutobi returned his smile.

* * *

Jumpingbeans480: Thanks 4get me not, 30sec2kiba, Giss, lil-lostii, Taichou Chibi-Chan, Ichigo Mirai, LeafeKnight7, Reads-way-2-much, lady DV011, purp1 ebabe, Kira Rose, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, S., kakashixangela, SesshoumaruKougaNarakuFanGirl, Music ADD, Ariz0na-Sky, Haru Inuzuka, itachigurlsaiyaku, DarkFallMoonBeloved, Animealover, xXKillorbeKilledXx, ksbaby07, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan, Kage Hasu, Anime Punk Kitty, Bloodcherry, -Yuna's Reincarnation-1, history-is-not-always-pretty, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Kagome Miko207 for reviewing!!

I was totally surprised by how well liked this story is turning out to be. 7 C2s, 26 favs, 76 alerts and 31 reviews for a chapter!! Woots! That's a new record for me! And I'm totally happy!!

By the way, kakashixangela has requested for a male harem for this story. I'm not sure, but I **might** do a male harem. I just need to find the guys that want to fight for her hand. Although I **might** be doing the harem, I already have in mind one guy that Kagome will end up with in the end. I'm not going to tell who though. For some of you guys, there are clues everywhere for you to figure out who!

And there is no way I'm doing an incest pairing here, Minato's sibling relationship with Kagome will be closer, but other than that he will end up with Kushina and they will have Naruto. And Kagome will end up with...well you guys figure it out for yourselves!!

Please review!


	3. Academy Affairs

Tale of a Miko Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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Chapter 2: Academy Affairs

Minato and Sarutobi were busy discussing the matter of Kagome's adoption now.

Jiraiya didn't want to intrude on their conversation, so he shifted his gaze over to Kagome instead, and he noticed that she was watching the two of them intently. She seemed to be taking in every detail of the two's conversation. Jiraiya blinked in surprise. Did she understand what they were discussing about?

Jiraiya didn't have the time to ask her about it because the two's conversation had ended with Minato giving Sarutobi a respectful bow and a mutter of thanks.

"Well then, Kagome-chan, you're going to live with me now!" Minato told her happily and cheerfully once he straightened up. She returned his smile and he asked her "Shall we go then? I want to introduce you to every one of my friends, including my Toads!"

It was Kagome's turn to blink in surprise. "Toads?" she repeated, the confusion evident in her voice.

Minato nodded, still happy, with a big grin on his face. "Yup! I have a summoning contract with them! I can summon them to help me out and stuff like that! And some of the Toads are huge! Some of them are even bigger than the biggest buildings here!!" he told her cheerfully.

Jiraiya rolled his eyes when Minato said _'Stuff like that'_.

How is it that his blond idiot of a student can act like a total doofus most of the time and on the battlefield his personality does a complete 180 degree turn? It was like he was a completely different person!

What's more, he didn't even appreciate the Toads!

When Jiraiya noticed the sudden silence around him, it was then that he realized he had said that all out loud. Minato was looking at his sensei in an annoyed fashion. "I think that Minato must have learned how to act like a 'doofus' from you Jiraiya," Sarutobi said in a bemused tone.

"Hey!" yelled an outraged Jiraiya.

"I don't appreciate the Toads? I do, which is why I prefer not to trouble them unless I need to. At least I'm not like you, oh dear Jiraiya-_sensei_, who summons them to help you out with the simplest of things because you're too lazy to do them yourself. I only summon them when I'm on the battlefield if it's necessary. So if appreciating the Toads means forcing them to be my slaves, then I'm glad I don't appreciate them," Minato said dryly.

Jiraiya continued to growl at Minato. It became quiet in the room as the tension was pretty heavy. It was Kagome who broke the silence.

"I would like to meet them, your Toads," Kagome told him in a polite sounding voice. Hearing that, Minato completely forgot about his annoyance towards his sensei and instead he grinned widely at Kagome.

He couldn't help it all right!

He was just damn happy that he found out he had a little sister related to him by _blood_! Jiraiya shook his head with a sigh at his student's happy demeanor but he frowned when he looked at Sarutobi, who was eying the two half siblings intently, as if he had something to ask them, but was hesitating.

So in order to make it easier for his sensei, the _noble_ and _gallant_ Jiraiya did the old man a favor. Not…

"Sarutobi-sensei, you look like you have a question to ask them, so why don't you do it already?" he asked him. Minato broke his gaze from Kagome and looked at Sarutobi in confusion. "Yes Hokage-sama?" he asked respectfully.

Sarutobi winced slightly and then he looked at his student.

His expression said it all to Jiraiya. '_Thank you sooooo much…_' The sarcasm was also evident in his expression. Jiraiya winced slightly and he flashed Sarutobi a sheepish and apologetic smile before he shrugged. Sarutobi sighed and he began talking.

"Minato, before you go off with Kagome, I want to ask you this. Are you going to let Kagome enter the academy to become a Kunoichi? I'm sorry but we might need her spiritual powers to assist us in the war. You have told us that she has managed to erect a barrier that protected her from the attack despite her young age. And as much as I do not like sending children to the battlefield, Danzou, Homura and Koharu will always outvote me on the matter," Sarutobi told the yellow haired Ninja with a frown on his face as he puffed on his pipe.

Minato's eyes grew cold as he listened to what Sarutobi told him.

Personally, he did not like Danzou, or two of the Hokage's teammates. He found them sinister or sneaky and he always got bad vibes whenever he was near them. And now they wanted to send children out to war? That was suicide!

He looked down to Kagome, who was smiling as she looked around the wide room, delight on her face.

Then she shifted her gaze to him and she told him "I don't mind being a Kunoichi, if it means I get to learn cool Jutsu and stuff! So can I be a Kunoichi, Minato-nii? Can I go to the academy, Minato-nii? I might not graduate soon! So can I become a Kunoichi, Minato-nii? Please?" she asked him in a whining sort of tone, and she gave him a pair of puppy eyes to complete her cute and innocent look.

Minato's heart completely melted at the sight of her and he found himself falling for the cute look she gave him.

To other people, he looked to be in a daze, but he wasn't the only one. Jiraiya and Sarutobi also couldn't resist the cute look she was giving Minato. "_Damn, if she looks this cute now, this girl is going to be a real babe when she grows up!_' Jiraiya thought and he giggled perversely.

Minato heard his sensei giggle and he did not like it one bit. His sensei must have thought about something perverted. '_Maybe he thought of Tsunade-hime in a bikini?_' he wondered.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Kagome calling him. "So Minato-nii, can I go to the academy and become a Kunoichi?" she asked him. Minato sighed "You're too young for the academy Kagome-chan…"

Minato had no intention of sending Kagome to become a Kunoichi; he didn't want his sister to live the life of a Kunoichi where she might just suddenly die in battle.

"So I can't go to the academy because I'm too young?" she repeated his answer. Minato nodded and then she smiled "So that means that I can go to the academy when I'm older then!!" she declared happily. Minato looked at her with wide eyes as he realized she found a loophole in his reply.

"W-wait! That's not what I meant!" he yelled even louder than her, but Kagome had already tuned his voice out and she hugged him.

"Oh thank you Minato-nii!!" she yelled back in delight, plainly ignoring his protests. Minato cast a look to Sarutobi and Jiraiya, asking for their help in the matter. But Jiraiya was laughing his ass off while Sarutobi watched the scene with an amused look on his face. Minato sighed, knowing that Kagome had won the war on this matter.

He cringed; he had been outsmarted, by a 5 year old no less…

This did not help with his ego. He would never tell Kushina, nope she wouldn't hear it from him, otherwise Minato might never hear the end of her taunting. "So Kagome-chan, when do you want to go the academy?" he asked her, fingers crossed, hoping that she would choose maybe 2, 3 or maybe even 5 years later before she entered.

Kagome frowned thoughtfully "How does entering in the next term sound?" she asked him.

Minato's blue eyes went wide and he spluttered out "The next term is only 1 week away!!!"

"Really?" she asked. Minato nodded furiously and he expected her to change her answer.

"Then I'll go to the academy by next week then," she told him with a pleased smile.

"W-WHAT?" Minato all but yelled in an undignified tone.

"K-Kagome-chan, you can't be serious, can you? You're too young," he told her weakly.

"You said that I could go to the academy when I was older. And I'll be a week older by then! So it counts as growing older! Nyah!" and she stuck her tongue out at him. Minato sighed in an exasperated way as he stared in horror at the supposedly cute and 'innocent' black haired half-sister of his.

Who knew she could be so cunning? It was then that Minato gulped. What had he gotten himself into?

No, he had to try and persuade her to join later; war was not laughing matter and it certainly was not a place for a child. If she became a Kunoichi, she would be sent out to the battlefield and who knows how many enemy Ninja might come after her; because they probably wanted revenge on the Konoha Yellow Flash for killing their loved ones, and what better way to get revenge than to kill his precious ones?

Minato had made many enemies already despite his young age, and the enemy was probably itching for revenge. They would come after his sister without a doubt if she was sent out to battle or on a mission.

"Kagome-chan…" he began, but she cut him off with a sigh. "I know what you're trying to tell me, Minato-nii…"

Minato blinked "You do?"

She nodded and told him "You think I'm too young. And you don't want me to get hurt. But Ninja academy won't be hard for me! Otou-san, Okaa-san and everyone else in the clan referred to me as a prodigy and when I was 3 years old they already made me do intense priestess training. They said that I had to replace Okaa-san as the High Priestess when I came of age. So I'm already good with targets and aim! They even said that I'm very fast at learning! So Ninja Academy won't be too hard for me!"

Minato blinked again.

'_Well that explains why she spoke too maturely for her age, but children this age shouldn't be helping out in the war and getting killed because of their lack of strength and experience!! They should have a proper childhood! They shouldn't see blood and death at this age!!_' Minato thought furiously.

He looked at Jiraiya, and then he asked "Jiraiya-sensei, what do you think?"

Jiraiya may have been the world's biggest pervert, but he could be serious when he wanted to; and actually he was a rather intelligent man. He would sometimes act as a fatherly figure for Minato and give him advice, and Jiraiya even treated Minato as if he was his own son.

Much better that Minato's real father who never fulfilled his duty as a proper father for Minato.

Jiraiya folded his hands as he looked at Minato, then to Kagome, who had a pleading look adorned on her features. Finally, Jiraiya made his decision. "Well…" he drawled. "I think that you should let her join the academy."

"WHAT?!" Minato was turning red from anger. Whose side was his sensei on anyway?!

"Yes! Thank you Jiraiya-sama!" yelled Kagome happily.

"Why Jiraiya-sensei? I'm your only student!! Shouldn't you be helping me instead of my sister? Whose side are you on anyway?" Minato asked in an exasperated tone. Jiraiya shrugged. Minato narrowed his eyes at his sensei and asked "Or are you helping Kagome-chan because of your perverted reasons?"

Jiraiya glared at Minato and he growled "Watch it brat. I may be a mega pervert and write erotic novels that appeal to every male pervert including Sarutobi-sensei who is a closet pervert by the way," Sarutobi winced and his cheeks turned red slightly ",but I'm not a pedophile. I don't go for young girls, especially young girls at _her_ age…" Jiraiya's voice trailed off dangerously. Minato gulped and knew that he had gone too far. He lowered his head and said softly "Sorry Jiraiya-sensei."

Jiraiya's mood immediately changed for the better and he smiled "Apology accepted brat."

Minato brightened up as well. "Really?"

"No, but I wanted to mess with you," the Toad Sage declared happily. Minato growled in frustration. "_Jiraiya-sensei…_" he whined again. Jiraiya waved him off nonchalantly "I get it, I get it. But since you showed me such disrespect, for your next training, I'm going to make you run 100 laps around Konoha."

"WHAT!!?"

Jiraiya looked at him smugly "No using any Jutsu. And you have to run backwards…" Then he started to laugh evilly. Minato winced and started to mutter colorful swear words under his breath. Minato and Jiraiya started to have a glaring contest. Meanwhile, Sarutobi and Kagome watched them with amusement evident in their features. Finally, Sarutobi cleared his throat and snapped them both out of their glaring contests. "Shall we get back to the topic?" he asked them dryly.

Jiraiya grinned sheepishly and he nodded.

Then he looked at Minato and explained the reason for his choice. "Well, did it ever occur to you what might happen if she doesn't know any Ninja skills and your enemies still came after her when you weren't around?"

Minato paled slightly at that.

"She would go down without a proper fight. So hell, I say let us send her to the academy and teach her the proper skills to defend herself. You cannot protect her from your enemies forever Minato, and you should be clever enough to know that. And don't give me your all powerful 'Hiraishin no Jutsu' crap. What happens if you don't make it in time? What happens if she doesn't have the special Kunai on her? What if she doesn't have the time to throw it? Then what? She dies just like that?"

Minato looked at the ground as he thought about what his sensei said.

Kagome noticed how gloomy his aura suddenly was, so she reached out and interlocked her fingers around his. Minato snapped out of his stupor and she flashed him an encouraging smile. Minato smiled back and then he looked at Sarutobi.

"Hokage-sama, I assume that your choice is the same as my sensei's choice?" he asked.

Sarutobi nodded and replied "Yes, what Jiraiya says does indeed make sense. You should give Kagome a fighting chance and I swear that I will do everything in my power to try and stop her from being sent out to the battlefield. Children have no place in the war. And they are too young to be killers or to shed blood and see death."

Minato sighed deeply and bowed.

"Very well then Hokage-sama. And thank you," he said in a grateful tone, before turning his attention back to Kagome again. She was looking at him in an innocent way and it warmed Minato's heart to the core. "Well then, we won't hold you up any longer. You should take Kagome-chan and head back home for some rest and later you can show her around town. You can also get her signed up for the academy," Sarutobi said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Minato winced slightly; somehow the thought of Kagome joining the academy at a young age still didn't appeal to him very much.

"And please remember to submit a detailed report about that attack on the Shrine. I will need all the information you have in order to ensure the safety of our people. Please do not leave anything out; any tiny details will also have to be written down. I'm sure that you are aware of the seriousness of the situation," Minato nodded and he carried Kagome in his arms again.

"I understand Hokage-sama," he said softly.

He concentrated on his chakra and before he could leave, Jiraiya called out to him "Oi brat, I just remembered, instead of 100 laps around Konoha backwards, you shall run 200 laps around Konoha backwards instead."

"WHAT?!? Why Jiraiya-sensei?!?! What did I do?!" Minato yelled out angrily. Jiraiya grinned smugly "Well the additional 100 laps around Konoha was for leaving without telling me!"

The gears in Minato's heads started to turn and it was his turn to smirk. "Why, were you actually worried for me, Jiraiya-sensei? I didn't know you cared for me that much…" he said dryly, and also with a hint of sarcasm.

Jiraiya growled and replied "Don't push my patience brat, or I will add another 100 laps to your sentence one more time you decide to back-sass me."

Minato grumbled under his breath about the 'tortures of perverted hermits' and Kagome giggled at his wide range of swear words. Minato blushed slightly when it suddenly occurred to him that he was just swearing in front of his 5 year old prodigious sister who appeared to be clinging on to every word he said. That was not the example of a good brother.

'_Bad Minato! Bad bad Minato!_' he silently chided himself.

"Err, well then shall we go, Kagome-chan…?" Minato's voice trailed off. Kagome nodded and Minato held her tenderly in his arms. He concentrated on his chakra and the two siblings disappeared in a flash of yellow.

Jiraiya and Sarutobi looked at the spot where the two half siblings had been standing on for a moment or two before Sarutobi resumed back to reading his documents.

"Kagome… She's not that different from a certain someone right? I mean, their both prodigies, they both have famous family who mean the world to them and lastly their intelligence and quick thinking are pretty much the same," said Jiraiya thoughtfully.

Sarutobi paused from his paperwork he looked up.

"You mean Sakumo's son right? I'll have to agree that Kakashi certainly is a rare talent for his age. And so is Minato. I believe that someone of his caliber is only born once a generation. I'm actually considering Minato to replace me for Hokage when he's old enough. He is a worthy candidate," he replied calmly.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah, but we'll wait and see first. Minato still has a long way to go before he can become Hokage."

Sarutobi agreed "That is true. But aside from that, Jiraiya, I understand that you are close friends with Sakumo."

"Yeah we're best buds, but what does that have to do with anything?" Jiraiya asked.

Sarutobi sighed wearily "I'm sure that you are aware of Sakumo's previous mission. He abandoned the mission to save the lives of his comrades. And now he is disgraced by almost everyone in the village, even by the companions whose lives he saved."

Jiraiya clenched his fists tightly. "Yeah I know. Those ungrateful bastards…" he muttered angrily.

"Enough Jiraiya. I need you to keep a close watch for me on Sakumo. I fear that he might become an emotional wreck soon because he is taking this matter seriously hard. Even Kakashi's personality has changed drastically and he has started to wear a mask to cover his face."

"The kid is embarrassed that he looks exactly like his father?" Jiraiya asked in a bewildered tone.

Sarutobi nodded "To some extent, yes. I fear that Kakashi might start to believe what the villagers have said about Sakumo and he might start to hate his father soon. Sakumo may be scorned by the villagers, but the breaking point for him is to be scorned by his own son, and that can never happen, or I fear he might do something terrible to himself. The villagers have been rather harsh to their family now and they still continue to bother the two even though I have warned them several times already. And now no one wishes to take Kakashi in their team because of him being a Hatake," he added sadly.

Jiraiya paused for a while and he looked as if he were in deep contemplation of something "Well then Sarutobi-sensei, why don't you saddle Kakashi up with Minato? I'm sure the kid would love to be a Sensei to Kakashi."

"Are you sure about that Jiraiya?" Sarutobi asked his student.

Jiraiya had a serious look on his face. "Yeah I'm dead sure. Minato is one of the few people that believes Sakumo did the right thing by saving the lives of his companions for the sake of a mission and I'm sure that he would take Kakashi as a favor to me or on his own free will. You should hear the reasons he gave me for believing that Sakumo did the right thing. Minato is already a Jounin and I'm sure that he needs the leadership experience training. He is a candidate for Hokage, after all…" and he looked at his Sensei with a small smile.

After some thought, Sarutobi nodded "Very well then, but we will still need to ask Minato how he feels about this."

Jiraiya's smile grew even bigger and he asked out of the blue "By the way, Sarutobi-sensei, did you get a good look at Kagome?" Sarutobi looked curious and he frowned. "Why is that Jiraiya?" Surely his student was not having lecherous thoughts in his head about Kagome right? After he had said that he wasn't a pedophile or interested in girls her age.

Jiraiya scratched the Hitae-ate around his forehead as he explained.

"Well I kind of noticed something. It seems to me that Kagome has that ability to make the people around her smile. Well, she and Minato both have that uncanny ability to make the people around them smile; but she has that more than Minato. Because haven't you noticed Sarutobi-sensei? This morning when I saw you, you were as tired as hell and you looked even worse, trust me, and after meeting and talking to her, you look really refreshed and you smiled a lot; the most I have ever seen you smile in a day ever since the war started."

He paused briefly and looked at Sarutobi, who was curiously pondering over his words, and it made some sense, even though it sounded really absurd.

"It must have been the pure spiritual energy that young Kagome gives out then. It must have healing effects," Sarutobi concluded at last. Jiraiya nodded before continuing "And Kagome also gives out the same aura of calm that Minato has, so she truly is his little sister then. She will become a great Kunoichi, maybe even greater than Tsunade," he paused again to look out the window at a certain gloomy looking, silver-haired, mask wearing boy who walked through the quiet streets of Konoha.

"And she may even change someone else's future..."

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Jumpingbeans480: Thank you Kage Otome, Ichigo Mirai, kakashixangela, Giss, Music ADD, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, Reads-way-2-much, Kage Hasu, Kawaii girl 4 life, Rinda-chan, 30sec2kiba, Hells Twilight, Dark Ice Kitsune, yamayo69, Shalimar23, Haru Inuzuka and utoi for reviewing!!

Well, most of you are guessing that Kagome is ending up with Kakashi.... That's pretty good sleuth work considering it's only the third chapter! Hmm, it might happen, or it might not. But I leave that to you to decide for yourselves. I just love keeping you guys in suspense!

I'm currently wracking my brains over something here. Every Ninja in 'Naruto' has some sort of special ability. So I'm trying to think what can be Kagome's special ability. Maybe if she had super strength like Tsunade? But I think that it would be really useful if Kagome was a Medic Ninja. I mean, with her healing powers as a Priestess, that would really come in handy.

Not to mention Priestesses know a lot about medicine. So it would be really beneficial if Kagome was training to be a medic. And based on my study of the Naruto time line, it appears that Tsunade is still in the village...

Please review!


	4. The Red Haired Tomboy

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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Chapter 3: The Red Haired Tomboy

The two siblings appeared in Minato's apartment in a flash of yellow. Minato gently set Kagome down on the floor and she looked curiously around his apartment. The apartment size was on the average; just the right size for two people to be living in it.

The walls were painted yellow, the same shade of yellow as Minato's hair, and the place also smelled strongly of him.

"So there is the kitchen," Minato said as he pointed to the small kitchen, "Then there's my bedroom, that's the bathroom, there's the storeroom, there's my study or library where I store all my family scrolls and Jutsu and this is the living room. Oh, and that's the way out of the house. And this," said Minato as he sat down, "is my favourite couch." Then he patted the armrest of the worn out couch happily.

"So this is my house and you're going to stay here from now on. So what's mine is yours and feel free to look around," he said happily.

Kagome walked towards the window and she opened it. Then she looked down and noticed that she and Minato were on the 6th floor of the apartment building. And they also had a great view of the town square, not to mention the Hokage monument as well. Kagome turned around to face Minato, and she looked at his bedroom.

Then she asked him curiously "Ne, Minato-nii, you only have one bed right?"

Minato nodded "Yeah. Why do you ask?" Then it occurred to him.

Damn! He had forgotten about the sleeping arrangements! Not to mention he had to buy clothes for Kagome, living supplies for Kagome and lots of other stuff for Kagome! It was fortunate that he wasn't much of a spendthrift and had instead saved quite a lot of money from all the missions he got, otherwise Minato certainly didn't know how he could possibly afford all those for his sister.

"Don't you worry Kagome-chan! Tonight you shall take my bed while I'll sleep on the couch! Then tomorrow we shall go shopping together and buy you your clothes and other stuff," he told her in a cheerful tone.

Kagome looked uncertain "Are you sure about this Minato-nii? Is it really okay if I take your bed?" she asked him.

Minato nodded "Yeah, sleeping on the couch is not that bad. There's a reason this couch is my favourite. It's really comfy even though it's a little small for me! Oh, I almost forgot. You must be thirsty after all this while Kagome-chan! Let me get you something to drink. I think that I have some orange juice somewhere in my fridge…" Minato muttered the last part to himself as he made his way to the kitchen. But then he tripped over some pile of clothes in an undignified manner.

Minato landed face first on the floor with a loud "Oomph!"

Kagome giggled slightly at his behaviour and Minato unceremoniously plucked his face from the ground. He had a dull look on his face as he spat out a sock. Sure, the Konoha Yellow Flash was pretty much a perfectionist and a great warrior. So people would expect him to be a neat freak.

But he was not.

He was more on the lines of a slob. But he would still do his laundry and tidy up the house, only once in two weeks of course. He just didn't have the time to clean his house and do his laundry regularly because of all the missions he was getting.

His fame was no doubt his undoing for his untidiness.

Minato was cursing for his carelessness under his breath. He was a Ninja for heaven's sake. And he was the Konoha Yellow Flash! The Konoha Yellow Flash was a great warrior that was invincible. Even if he was supposed to go down, he was supposed to go down in the battlefield and not in his house!!

He did not go down tripping over his dirty laundry because his house was in a mess!!

As he straightened himself up, Minato grinned sheepishly at Kagome and he furiously rubbed the back of his neck "Sorry about the mess, I don't really have time to clean because I'm busy most of the time. And I wasn't expecting company."

Kagome flashed him a small smile and she picked up some dirty clothes from the floor. "It's all right Minato-nii, we'll clean up the house together!" she told him cheerfully. Minato shook his head furiously and a small blush was on his cheeks. "No! I can't have you helping me tidy up! Why don't you go outside and play instead! Then by the time you come back at dinner time the house will be clean and tidy by then!" he replied and took the clothes from her.

"But I don't know my way around Konoha. I might get lost," she told him in a cute and innocent way, a pout on her face. Minato had a thoughtful look on his face for a while, before he snapped his fingers in delight. "Ah I know!" Then without another word, he scooped her in his arms opened the door, running out.

He ran down the stairs and out of the apartment building with Kagome still in his arms. "Ne, Minato-nii, where are we going?" she asked him in a cute way.

"I'm going to leave you with my friend for the day while I clean up the house! Her name is Uzumaki Kushina! She's a Kunoichi of the former Whirlpool village. But don't worry, she's really nice and she'll take good care of you! I just know she will!!" Minato said with a smile, a slight blush adorned on his features.

Kagome frowned thoughtfully at him, wondering why her brother was blushing at the mention of this person.

She found this behaviour all too familiar. What was it again? Then it occurred to her, so he asked her brother innocently "Ne, Minato-nii, do you like Kushina-san?" Minato blinked as he stopped running and decided to walk instead.

"Huh? What do you mean?" he asked her.

Kagome sighed and she asked again "You know, as in like her more than a friend and want her to be your girlfriend and then your wife that sort of thing," she informed him as a matter-of-factly. Minato spluttered out and stuttered, unable to give her a proper answer.

But now his face was as red as a tomato. That only confirmed Kagome's question. She smiled knowingly and Minato continued to blush.

"D-Don't say anything to her a-about it, okay?" he stuttered out nervously. Kagome nodded and she giggled a little. She wouldn't say anything about it, but in time, she would probably set those two up. But first, she needed to see what this Uzumaki Kushina was like. She wanted to know if this person was good or true to her brother. Because she was a concerned little half sister, yes she was. (AN: This last part really reminds me of Kenshin in 'Rurouni Kenshin', that it does. Lol! XD)

They arrived at one apartment and Minato started to knock on the door.

When he got no reply, he started pounding on the door, yelling "Kushina! Hello?! Are you in?! Kushina!!" And after about half a minute, there was some shuffling coming from inside, followed by a groggy "Yeah! Yeah! I'm coming!" The door was opened quickly and Kagome found herself staring at a red haired teenager no older than her brother.

Uzumaki Kushina, in Kagome's opinion, was a very beautiful young woman.

She had long flowing red hair that reached to her rear, and her beautiful sea green eyes had that determination and fierce loyalty in them. Not to mention the scowl on her face made her all the more beautiful.

Kushina growled loudly, a killer intent spilling from her.

Her red hair was in a mess, and it looked like she had just been in a deep sleep only moments before. "What the fuck do you want Namikaze?! Do you know what fucking time it is?!" she asked him angrily, her green eyes flashing.

Minato blinked innocently "Umm, 8 am?"

"Exactly! It's still too damn early! I had a B-class mission yesterday which made me as tired as hell. And when I got home it was close to 4 am in the morning. Then there I was in bed thinking to myself '_Oh, it's my day off today, so I should be able to sleep until noon at the least._' But look who had to wake me up!" she yelled at him.

"Umm…sorry?" Minato said uncertainly.

"Well you should be sorry you procrastinated dick!" she yelled. While she was still ranting, Minato took the time to study her appearance, because something just wasn't right here, he could feel it in his bones.

So Minato's blue eyes scanned Kushina up and down, and he presumably gulped.

Now Minato knew Kushina long enough and he knew when the right times were to be scared of Kushina because of her temper; and this was one of the times. But how the hell was he supposed to take her seriously when she was only clad in a pale shirt; the shirt was so pale that Minato could see the outlines of her developing breasts and nipples, and for the bottom she only wore her panties. So I ask again, how was Minato supposed to take her seriously without thinking perverted thoughts first?!

That's what he gets for having the most perverted man in all of the Five Great Ninja Nations as a sensei…

Minato's face turned a beet red and he instinctively looked away, but Kushina grabbed the hem of his vest and pulled him close to her, making him nose to nose with her. "Screw it Namikaze! Look at me when I'm talking to you!!" she hissed. Minato's eyes instinctively trailed downwards to her chest before he shut his eyes tight, whimpering softly.

His face was still as red as ever. "Damn it, what is your problem Namikaze?! Why are you all red for?" she growled.

Minato mumbled out something really fast and softly. "What?! What did you say? Repeat it, I didn't quite catch that. And speak louder, you blonde moron! I don't have super hearing!" she snapped as she shook Minato furiously. Minato inwardly sighed and he held up his hand, beckoning her to come closer.

Kushina looked suspicious, but she still did move closer to him.

Minato whispered softly in her ear and his hot breath tickled her slightly. When Minato was done talking, the blush on his face was still there. Kushina was now blushing as well and she didn't want to look Minato in the face. She let go of him and her hand immediately collided with his cheek.

There was a resounding slap and she yelled "You stinkin' pervert!" before she slammed the door shut again.

Minato pressed his ear against the door and he could hear some more shuffling from inside her house. Kushina was no doubt putting more decent clothes on before she faced him again. He shook his head slightly but then he seemed to notice Kagome was giggling at him.

"What?" he asked her.

"_Nothing…_" she said in a sing-song voice. Minato looked suspicious at that, but he didn't probe. Instead, they both stood silently outside the apartment, waiting for Kushina to get ready. After a minute or two, the door opened again and this time Kushina came out, wearing her Kunoichi outfit. She looked way more decent compared to the last time, although she still had a deep blush on her features.

She looked at the ground, too embarrassed to face Minato and she mumbled out "So what do you want Namikaze?"

Minato grinned sheepishly and she rubbed the back of his neck "I-uh, I need you to help me babysit my little sister Kagome for the day. Please? I need the day to clean up my apartment because of the mess so that it's considered safe for human living."

Kushina frowned at Minato. "I didn't know you had a little sister."

Minato beckoned for her to come closer and Kushina complied. Then Minato whispered into her ear "Yeah, about that. Actually, Kagome is my half-sister. We have the same father and yesterday she just lost her entire family in a Bijuu attack. So now she's staying with me in Konoha. I'll give you more details later. So please, can you babysit her? You don't have to keep her inside the house or anything! You can take her out and show her around Konoha and stuff!" Minato added with a nervous laugh.

Kushina glared at Minato, but her gaze softened when she looked at Kagome, who smiled at her. Kushina blinked, and she knelt down so she was eye level to Kagome. Then she smiled back at the 5 year old and was mesmerized by those blue eyes.

'_Minato's eyes…' _she found herself thinking with a small smile.

But she snapped out of her thoughts the minute she noticed that she had been staring. She looked up at Minato, cursing all the gods she knew of because she still knew that her blush was back and she was redder than ever.

"Sure, I'll babysit the kid. What time will you pick her up?" she asked Minato.

He grinned and thanked her profusely. "Thank you Kushina!! Thank you so much!! And I'll pick her up at 9 pm, at your house," he yelled happily. Kushina rolled her eyes at him and she nodded "Yeah, yeah, just remember to treat me out to ramen for this…"

"I'll treat you to as much bowls of ramen as you want!" Minato said in a grateful tone, Kushina smiled at that. As much ramen as she wanted; now that was paradise!

Minato knelt down as well and he looked at Kagome. "Now Kagome-chan, you be good with Kushina okay? I'll find you okay? Just take this for safety reasons and I'll look for you guys later," and he handed her a special Kunai before he gave her a peck on her cheek.

Kagome noted that Kushina's eyes flashed envy for a moment before they disappeared.

Then Minato stood up and he waved to the two before he disappeared in a flash of yellow. Kushina looked at Kagome, who was staring at the strange Kunai, before asking "So kid, where do you want to go?" Kagome looked at her and she smiled "I don't know. And my name is not kid, it's Namikaze Kagome. What's yours?"

"Uzumaki Kushina, the best damn Kunoichi that Konoha has ever seen!" Kushina said with a smile.

Kagome's eyes seem to light at when Kushina announced that she was a Kunoichi. "Ne, Kushina-san, can we go and train? I'm going to the Ninja academy next week. So can you train me? I want to be a great Kunoichi like you!" she said with a smile.

Kushina nodded and ruffled Kagome's hair.

"Sure, kid, I'll be happy to train you. Just hang on a second. I'll need to get some stuff first." And without another word, Kushina entered her house and took her weapons pouch. Then she closed the door and locked it. Kagome was still patiently waiting for her outside. "So let's go to the training grounds. Then I'll show you how to throw Shuriken and Kunai." Kagome nodded happily and they both set out.

On the way to the training grounds, Kagome would ask Kushina some questions and Kushina would answer.

"Ne, Kushina-san, you're not a Ninja of Konoha?" asked Kagome. Kushina shook her head "Nope, my village was destroyed in the war; I'm one of the last survivors of my village. Sarutobi-sama and Konoha took me in. I've lived here for 3 years already, ever since I was 10."

"Then what rank are you Kushina-san?" asked Kagome again.

Kushina smiled proudly "Now I'm a Chunin, and a damned good one! But I'm going to take the Jounin exams pretty soon and kick some serious Chunin ass! Then I'll be promoted to a Jounin. So Kagome-chan… Exactly how old are you?"

"I'm 5," replied Kagome calmly.

Kushina whistled slightly "Wow, only 5 Kagome-chan? I had no idea. You seem a hell lot more mature than your age, you know." Kagome smiled sweetly at her. The two came to a halt in front of a fence.

On the other side of the fence was the training grounds, and it appeared to be vacated.

Kushina jumped over the fence without another word but then she suddenly seemed to remember Kagome. She turned around but she was shocked to find the young girl missing. Kushina yelled "Kagome-chan?!"

And when she got no reply, she cursed silently "Damn, Minato is going to string my neck and run me dry…"

"Why?" asked Kagome. Kushina jumped slightly and she was surprised to find Kagome standing beside her. "Damn it kid, where the hell did you go?!" she asked in a worried tone. Kagome looked at the ground and she apologized "I'm sorry. I got over the fence too. It took me some time though. That's why you didn't see me."

Kushina sighed and she knelt down in front of the girl.

Then she reached out her hand and pushed Kagome's face gently up to look at her. She smiled slightly at the young girl and said "I'm sorry too. I guess I need a little work on my communication skills. I'm just not used to taking care of a small kid all right? So cheer up, then I'll be sure to give you a few pointers for your training! And I'll train you any time you want!" Kushina added as an afterthought.

Kagome lips slowly curved into a smile and she whispered "I would like that."

Then Kushina took a quick glance at the fence. "How did you climb over?" she asked the little girl. That question puzzled her to no end. How did a small girl like her climb over the fence? Kagome didn't look as if she had gone through any Ninja training. Kagome told her in a calm tone "I just jumped over. This is easy for me. Back at home, I had to do at least 8 hours of priestess training everyday. We always worked on my reflexes, aim and agility. Then they would make me practise how to channel my spiritual energy."

Kushina furrowed her eyebrows "Spiritual energy?" she asked.

Kagome nodded. "I lived in a Shrine. And they were training me to replace Okaa-san as the next High Priestess. They said I was a prodigy in my time. And I had almost finished my training. I started training as a Priestess ever since I was 3. And I could have almost become a Priestess, that is, until it attacked," Kagome said with a sigh. Kushina decided not to ask further questions about that. She could tell that Kagome was still upset about the matter; whatever it was.

The two young girls stood in front of some targets and Kushina smirked. Ah, the joys of training…

Kagome looked at Kushina and then to the target. "So I just practise my aim by throwing this?" she asked, as she held up Minato's special Kunai. Kushina shook her head and replied "No, you see, that Kunai Minato's special Kunai. If you throw it, he will be able to sense it and he'll think that you are in danger since you must be throwing it at the enemy. So you only throw it when you're in danger and not for fun, okay?"

Kagome nodded in understanding and Kushina took out some Kunai and Shuriken from her weapons pouch.

"Here," she said, handing Kagome the weapons "Practise with some of these, and aim for the target, not at me, or anything else." Kushina, like an average sane person, does not fancy a weapon being thrown at her by a child.

Kagome nodded and she looked at the Kunai for a moment. "How do I hold it?" she asked Kushina.

Kushina took out her own Kunai and she demonstrated to Kagome "Here, like this, and you throw like this!" Then she threw the Kunai at the target, frowning when the Kunai missed the bulls-eye. "Oh, and be careful!" she added "If you don't hold the Kunai or throw it properly you can get cut, all right?"

"I can manage now, Kushina-san," Kagome said calmly.

Then she eyed the target carefully, and after a few seconds Kagome threw the Kunai. Kushina had a shocked look on her face when the Kunai hit dead centre of the target. And Kushina knew that her mouth must have hung open in shock when Kagome threw some more weapons at the target, which all hit the centre. "Wow Kagome-chan, you're good! Are you sure you haven't done any Ninja training?" asked Kushina.

Kagome smiled sheepishly as she replied "No Ninja training. Just Priestess training. I had to practise firing arrows all the time." Kagome laughed sheepishly as well.

Kushina smiled warmly and ruffled her hair. "You're definitely going to be one hell of a Kunoichi when you graduate Kagome-chan," she said gently. Kagome smiled as well, but then suddenly she frowned and looked suspiciously at the trees.

Kushina frowned as well "Kagome-chan?" she asked. Kagome still had that frown adorned on her features, and she said calmly "There's someone else here besides us. I can sense it."

"But I don't sense anything," said Kushina. "You Ninja sense people by their chakra signal. Priests and priestesses sense people by their auras," Kagome replied. Then she called out "You can come out now, no use hiding. We know you're there."

The two were only met only with a dead silence. Kushina looked at the young girl again and asked her "Kagome-chan, are you sure that—?!"

But she was cut off as Kagome threw a Kunai towards the trees. Kushina watched carefully as a figure jumped from the trees in order to escape from the oncoming Kunai. The figure landed on the floor in a graceful way.

'_Well I'll be damned, the kid was right…There really was someone there…_' Kushina thought.

She was amazed at Kagome's skill despite her lack of Ninja training and young age. '_Training as a priestess must have been really done wonders to her abilities._' Then she crossed her arms and glared at the figure, who was busy dusting himself.

"All right kid, who the hell are you?" Kushina asked sternly.

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Jumpingbeans480: Thank you Giss, Hells Twilight, Ichigo Mirai, Reads-way-2-much, Kagome Lady of Darkness, mia1837, Haru Inuzuka, Music ADD, utoi, Rinda-chan, Kawaii girl 4 life, himitsuri, kakashixangela, Ariz0na-Sky, SesshoumaruKougaNarakuFanGirl, Kurai Mori, oreoxlove4ever and hermonine for reviewing!!

Well, I was having a tough time coming up with Kushina's personality, since the Manga only described her as a talkative tomboy. So my best friend and classmate **Suigintou no Yoru** gave me some pretty good advice. And the advice is really ironic in my opinion.

She told me that if I had trouble with Kushina's personality, I would just have to imagine how would **I **act and what would **I **say in place of Kushina. Since I'm pretty much of a talkative tomboy myself.

But don't worry, Kushina's personality will improve as she grows older.

Sa, who do you think is the mysterious figure?

Please review!!


	5. First Impressions

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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Chapter 4: First Impressions

The strange boy continued to dust himself and he looked lazily at the two.

Kagome noticed that he looked to be no older than her, and yet he already had a Hitae-ate tied around his head. He had spiky silver hair and was wearing a mask that covered the lower half of his face. Kagome looked curiously at him, wondering why he was wearing a mask for.

He continued to look lazily at them, not bothering to answer Kushina's question.

Kushina growled, annoyed at his behaviour. "Punk, don't make me ask again. Who the hell are you?" Her temper was rising now. The silver haired boy shrugged and retorted "I don't think that my name is any of your business," before he turned around to leave. Kushina was seething now.

"You damned brat…" she muttered under her breath.

Kagome was silent, although she was eyeing the masked boy curiously. "Hey!" she called out. The boy ignored her and she called him again. "Excuse me! Could you wait for one minute?" The boy stopped and spun around, the annoyance evident in his eyes.

He then asked her in an icy tone "What?"

Was she going to taunt him like the rest of the village children? Was she going to mock him and say that his father was a disgrace and a fool? Was she just like the rest of the people in the village who had once respected his father but now they hated him?

The boy couldn't be sure. But these were all the thoughts that were going through his head as he looked at Kagome.

Kagome tried to shrug and wave his cold behaviour off, but that boy was pretty intimidating to her. Well he was sending her a glare that promised death. She gulped and replied "I noticed something about your stealth. You're good at hiding your chakra signal. But you should be more careful and hide your aura as well. Not to mention your scent. That's how I found you. It'll be really bad for you if the wind blows your scent towards the direction of an enemy and you happen to stink."

Kushina started laughing at what Kagome had said.

The boy had frozen slightly. Well, he certainly did not expect her to say that to him; that was for sure. But still; it seemed to be just as horrible as saying bad things about his father. When Kagome saw the frozen expression on his face; it was then that she realized her folly.

She raised her hands and flapped them nervously around like a flustered chicken about to be killed.

"But I didn't mean that you stink now! What I meant was that if you happen to stink at that time! Well actually you do stink a little now but it must be because you did some intense training — but that's not the point! What I mean is that I'm sorry! I'm sorry if I offended you!"

She was seriously confused.

Why was she acting like this? She was so out of character from how she normally behaves like. Usually she was calm and collected, and now here, this boy made her act like a chicken about to get its head chopped off. Was it because of his intense gaze on her?

"Thank you for pointing that out," the boy told her dryly when he recovered from his surprise.

Then he turned around and started to walk away from them again. But suddenly he stopped halfway as if a thought had just occurred to him. He told Kagome in a deadpanned tone "Oh and I also noticed something about your throwing skills. Your aim is good. But seriously, you look like somebody shoved a Kunai up your ass when every time you take aim and throw. And not to mention your throwing posture seriously reminded me of a maimed buffalo."

That comment made Kagome stop trying to apologize to him. Now she was red in the face from both embarrassment and anger. Kushina was glaring at the rude boy as well. "Hey brat, that's no way to speak to a girl! Now apologize to her!"

The white haired boy turned around again, looking at them with his eyes half open.

He shrugged "What? I was just speaking the truth. And someone like her is considered a girl? The standard for girls these days must be really low," he said dryly. Then he turned around again and started to walk away. "Let's hope we do not meet again," he called out to them. Then he was gone in a flash.

He must have used the Shunshin no Jutsu.

Kagome was still red in the face and Kushina asked her worriedly "You okay Kagome-chan?" Kagome nodded meekly and she hissed "That insensitive moron…I'll really shove a Kunai up his damned ass the next time I see him!"

Kushina was appalled at her use of language.

"Kagome-chan! You shouldn't swear like that!" Kagome blinked innocently at her as she cocked her head cutely to the side "But don't you swear at Minato-nii all the time?" Kushina laughed sheepishly and she furiously rubbed the back of her neck.

"Yeah, about that. You only can swear when you're 13 or above."

She was hoping inside that Kagome would listen to her. Minato may act like a dumb saint most of the time and stand her violent tomboy behaviour towards him because that was how she acted towards everyone; but Kushina was aware that Minato could turn into a raging demon if found out that she taught his 5 year old sister to swear like her. She shuddered slightly. Minato was rarely mad at her, but if he was seriously mad, Kushina did not want to be the one on the receiving end of his temper.

Kagome pouted "But that stupid guy was also swearing, and he doesn't seem to be older than 13! He barely looked older than me!"

"Kagome-chan…" Kushina's voice trailed off in a warning sort of voice. Kagome sighed and she nodded "I get it. I get it. You don't want Minato-nii to get angry at you for teaching me how to swear like you."

'_Otherwise it might ruin your chances with him,_' she silently thought to herself.

They continued to practise their throwing skills for the rest of the day until it was time for lunch. So Kushina took Kagome out to a nice ramen joint named 'Ichiraku Ramen'.

Kushina walked under the flap of cloth and she waved at the owner "Yo Teuchi, give me the usual," then she turned to Kagome, who came in after her "And what would you like to eat Kagome-chan?" she asked.

Kagome looked at the menu and she asked "May I have the Miso Pork Ramen?"

Kushina nodded and she turned to Teuchi "Well you heard her. So the usual Salt Ramen for me and give her some Miso Pork Ramen, but giver her half of what you usually serve. I doubt Kagome-chan can finish it. It's a really big bowl."

Teuchi nodded "Coming right up," he said.

While he prepared the ramen, Kushina and Kagome took a seat. "So Kagome-chan, tell me more about yourself," said Kushina as she inhaled the delicious smell of the ramen being cooked. "I like Minato-nii, Kushina-san, Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama and the colour blue! I hate bullies. And I think I'm scared of small spaces now. I want to be a Kunoichi and a Miko at the same time!" said Kagome with a smile.

"What do you mean that you're scared of small spaces now?" Kushina asked with a frown.

"Well…Otou-san and Okaa-san put me in the well and I stayed there during the whole attack. I could hear the people I knew screaming and I felt them dying because their aura disappeared. It was scary," Kagome said sadly. Kushina patted her on the shoulder and smiled gently.

She felt guilty for bringing it up. "Well, that's all in the past. You have us now, and we'll always be there for you."

Kagome's sad expression turned slightly happy and she nodded "I know. Thanks Kushina-san." Kushina flashed Kagome a grin and she replied "No problem Kiddo. So now it's my turn then. Let's see, I love Ramen, I love being a Kunoichi, I hate Namikaze and his pervert of a sensei, and I want to be the best Kunoichi there ever was!"

"Ne, Kushina-san? If you hate Minato-nii, why do you still hang out with him?" Kagome asked curiously.

Kushina didn't know how to answer Kagome, and there was a slight blush on her cheeks. But she would be forever thankful of Teuchi, because at that moment he had placed the ramen in front of them and he said "Here's your meal. Enjoy."

"Well let's dig in Kagome-chan, we wouldn't want our ramen to get cold now would we?" Kushina asked. "Itadakimasu!"

They both said and they began to eat. And during that period of time, Kagome got to know Kushina better. She knew that she enjoyed ramen, and that she was a rather talkative tomboy. But overall she was a really nice woman.

Kagome smiled to herself. She approved of Minato having a crush on Kushina.

After ramen, Kushina decided that Kagome has had enough training. So she took Kagome all around Konoha, showing her all the sights. Kagome took all a good look around her surroundings and she started to remember her way around. Kushina was impressed by the good memory that Kagome possessed.

'_She'll be one hell of a Kunoichi!_' she thought happily to herself.

While they were walking around, they passed by the academy and Kushina smiled. "Look Kagome-chan. This is the Ninja academy. You'll be going here to learn all about being a Kunoichi," she told her kindly. Kagome looked at the academy in delight and she smiled. Then Kushina took Kagome to the park to play and meet children her own age.

Maybe Kagome would be able to make a few friends.

Kagome sat uncertainly on the swings as she looked at all the playing children. She was too shy to approach them. What if they didn't like her? She never got many friends at the Shrine; she didn't have the time. She was always swamped with priestess training so she didn't have the time to make friends.

Kushina noticed Kagome's shyness and she frowned.

What could she do to help? The red headed Kunoichi smiled as she recognized most of the children playing. "Raidou, Genma! Come here for a sec!" she called out to the nearest two kids she knew. Genma and Raidou were still studying at the academy. But they were going to graduate in another year.

The two boys looked at each other in confusion before they shrugged and approached Kushina.

"What can we do for you Kushina-san?" asked Raidou politely. She motioned for them to come closer, then she said "You see that little kid over there by the swings?" then she pointed to Kagome, who was staring at the ground.

Genma and Raidou nodded.

"That girl is Namikaze's little sister okay. I want you to go there and try and be her friends. She's a sweet kid, and if you can, introduce her to the rest of your friends? Got it?" Then she looked at them seriously to show that she was not joking.

Raidou nodded while Genma smiled. "Sure," they both agreed.

Then they headed off towards the direction of Kagome. Kagome was still swinging slightly when she saw two shadows looming above her. She looked up and was surprised to see two boys. One of them had shoulder length brown hair, and he was biting on something. It looked like a senbon needle. The other boy also had brown hair, and he was smiling kindly at her. They looked to be about 10 years old.

"Hi there, my name is Namiashi Raidou, and this is my friend Shiranui Genma. We've never seen you around here before. Are you new?" Raidou asked kindly.

Kagome nodded meekly and Genma asked "Well what's your name? You know ours so it's only fair we know yours." Kagome looked at them with her blue eyes and she said "My name is Namikaze Kagome, nice to meet you."

Raidou and Genma smiled. "Well then Kagome, do you want to play with us? We can introduce you to the rest of our friends."

Kagome looked uncertainly at Kushina, who was sitting on one of the benches watching them. Kushina smiled and nodded, encouraging Kagome to join them. Kagome looked back to Raidou and Genma, smiling. "Okay, I would like to meet them."

Raidou and Genma looked at each other and they smiled.

Then each of them grabbed one of Kagome's hands and they dragged her off to meet their friends. "Hey guys," they both called out to their friends. Kagome, who was very nervous, hid behind Genma's back. Raidou chuckled quietly and he began speaking when he got everybody's attention.

"Genma and I would like you guys, and girl," he added quickly after receiving a glare from Kurenai "To meet Namikaze Kagome."

"Namikaze? Is she related to Minato-sama by any chance?" asked Asuma after he heard her surname. Kagome nodded and she spoke softly "He's my brother." Everyone looked at Kagome in awe for having such an aspiring figure as the Konoha Yellow Flash for an elder brother.

Genma cleared his throat to get their attention again.

Then Raidou began speaking to them. "As I was saying, this is Kagome. She's new around here and we should all try and make her feel welcome okay?" Raidou asked them cautiously. Everyone nodded and they all introduced themselves to Kagome.

"I'm Yuuhi Kurenai," said a pretty girl with flowing black hair and red eyes.

"Sarutobi Asuma," the boy gruffly said.

Another boy wearing dark shades introduced himself as 'Yamashiro Aoba'.

Another boy with silver to greyish hair smiled as he said "Touji Mizuki." Kagome didn't know why, but she got bad vibes around him. His aura was a little tainted so she did not want to spend that much time around him. She didn't even want to try and imagine what type of person Mizuki would grow up into. There was another person that made Kagome uncomfortable; and that person was named Morino Ibiki. She got the shivers whenever she was near him.

So she kept her distance from him although she tried not to make it look too obvious.

"Yosh! I am Maito Gai!" a young green-spandex wearing youth declared. He was weird looking with his bowl haircut and his caterpillar eyebrows, but Kagome could tell that Gai was a good person at heart. His aura didn't feel the least tainted.

There were two boys that were the best of friends. One of them had a bandage on his nose, that boy introduced him self as 'Hagane Kotetsu' and the other boy was named 'Kamizuki Izumo'. Then there was this other kid that wore dark shades. His name was "Ebisu." Kagome didn't know what the rest of his name was and Ebisu didn't look like he wanted to share it with anybody. After she got to know all their names, they all decided to play a round of hide-and-seek.

Kagome was 'it'. While she counted to 10, everybody scurried off to find a good hiding place. Kushina smiled at Kagome as she searched for her newfound friends.

"Oh, Kushina is that you?" Kushina's head swivelled to the direction of the voice and she found herself standing up immediately, bowing slightly in respect "Tsunade-sama!" she said in a flustered tone. Tsunade had a smirk adorned on her beautiful features as she watched Kushina's behaviour with amusement.

She then asked "Are you that surprised to see me?"

Kushina shook her head and she replied "It's just that I never expected you to come to a playground of all places Tsunade-sama."

"The same goes for you Kushina. I was actually guessing that you would be at home sleeping since this is your day-off. Oh well, it looks like I owe Jiraiya some money. But I'm sure the pervert must have ripped me off. I'll be sure to settle it with him later," she told the red haired Kunoichi. "Anyway, I'm here because Shizune wanted to come and play," and she pointed to her deceased lover's niece. Shizune was chatting with Genma and Raidou, no doubt asking them to let her join the game.

"Well I'm babysitting Minato's little sister, so I thought that bringing her here would be the best for her to make some friends," Kushina replied. Tsunade frowned thoughtfully "Minato's little sister? I was not aware that he had a sibling…"

Kushina sighed.

"Neither was I. I only found out this morning. Anyway, he told me that Kagome's his half-sister. And she just lost her entire family to a Bijuu attack. Minato's taken her in, I guess. And I'm babysitting her because he wanted to clean up his pigsty of a house," she grumbled.

Tsunade laughed quietly but she stopped when there was the sound of somebody crying. She and Kushina looked around curiously for the source of the noise.

* * *

Jumpingbeans480: Thank you kakashixangela, 4get me not, Ichigo Mirai, Music ADD, Reads-way-2-much, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, Kawaii girl 4 life, Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami, KiraNova19, utoi, Hells Twilight, himitsuri, Jasmine Hatake, hermonine, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Rinda-chan, -Yuna's Reincarnation-1, Kuro-no-Tsubasa, Giss, Iciness, Ariz0na-Sky, Kuroi 002, Dark Ice Kitsune, Passionate Crow Rat, neko teh smexy dictator, Kage Hasu, Lovelywitch, Saphire Moon Maiden and LaClam0516 for reviewing.

And special thanks to MikosWish who took the time to review for every chapter!

Well those of you who guessed that Kakashi was the mysterious figure, kudos to you! I'm not really sure how to nail his character here, because in the Kakashi Gaiden he was seen as arrogant. But he won't stick to the rules so strictly yet. His father is still alive so he won't follow the rules that devotedly yet.

But still *shrugs* I tried with personality. Since everyone was discriminated against Kakashi and his father, I figured that Kakashi would be very anti-social and try to avoid conversations with other people for fear that they might mock his family. But he still has quite a glib tongue as demonstrated above. He will not take an insult lying down. And Kagome messed up her conversation with him because she was intimidated by the glare that Kakashi gave her.

But it seems that Kagome is starting to learn ALOT from Kushina; such as her choice for swear words. Really, a 5-year old swearing? Minato really might kill her. And as for her choice of friends, I thought that Kagome would be better off with Genma and Raidou. And I'm still deciding who will she get teamed up with when she graduates the academy.

I don't know why, but people seem to enjoy putting Genma as a pervert.

I looked up information on him and it turns out that he is a respected Ninja in the village, since most Ninja seemed to be taking orders from him without complaint. I don't know whether I'll put Genma as a pervert when he grows up; we'll just have to wait and see.

Who do you think the crying person is? I can assure you that the person is someone totally unexpected. And no, the answer is not Kagome.

Please Review!


	6. The Distressed Dolphin

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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Chapter 5: The Distressed Dolphin

It turns out that the child who was crying was 2 year old Umino Iruka.

He was sitting in an awkward position on the ground and was crying rather loudly. His attire was dirty and it looked like he had been pushed headfirst into the dirt. There were three boys crowded around him, smirking evilly.

It didn't take a genius to know what had happened to him.

Kushina felt anger rising in her as she understood what had happened now. Oh, how she positively hated bullies! She stood up hastily and stormed towards the boys, ready to give them a severe dressing down, and she could feel Tsunade's amused stare behind her back. But Kushina stopped dead in her tracks when she was that Kagome had approached the boys.

Kagome knelt down beside Iruka and asked "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Tears continued to roll down his face as he sobbed out "Those meany people pushy me! And now my boo boo's are all ouchy!" Then he pointed to the boys, who tried to look all innocent right about now. Kagome noticed that Iruka's knees were scaped and bleeding and she silently wondered where the Umino parents were. And she also wondered why nobody tried to help Iruka. She stood up and glared fiercely at the three boys.

"Apologize to him now since you pushed him in the dirt!" she told them sternly.

"But we didn't do it!" yelled one of the boys.

"Yeah, just because he said we pushed him doesn't make it true!" agreed another one.

"Maybe he fell down himself and is trying to push the blame on us! He never liked us much!" said the third.

Kagome looked at them and she looked back at Iruka, who was still crying. "Those meany people is pushy me! I is no fall down meself!" he sobbed indignantly. Kagome turned back to the boys and she glared dryly at them.

"Nice try boys. I can tell that you're lying. Your aura says it all…" her voice trailed off dangerously.

"What proof do you have!?" asked one of the boys, and he looked to be the leader of the trio. Well, he was the biggest out of the trio; and to kids nowadays, your size meant everything. It was the little kids who got bullied, and the big kids who were the bullies from what Kagome had seen.

"Yeah, butt out of it girly!" said another boy.

Well Kagome didn't exactly have proof. She knew that those boys were lying because their auras told her so, but she couldn't possible use that as a reason. They wouldn't believe her if she told them. Kagome was just about to say something when a voice behind her cut her off.

"I could see you push him down from my hiding place. So the kid's not lying," a bored voice replied.

"Is that enough proof for you three bullies?" a calm voice sounded out behind her. Kagome smiled slightly. Even though she had only known them for a short time, she already knew how their voices sounded like.

She turned around and her smile got even bigger as Genma and Raidou appeared by her side.

Then she turned her attention back to the three bullies. "There, that's your proof. So apologize already," she told them. The boys started laughing at Kagome. "Or what? What can you do? You're just a weak little new girl," their leader told her rudely.

Kagome clenched her fists and she yelled "I. Can. Do. This!" before she collided her fists with one of their noses and there was a slight crack; surprising everyone around her. Genma and Raidou had a startled look on their faces as the boy she punched reeled back in shock, clutching his now bleeding nose. He looked at a smirking Kagome for a while before he burst into tears and ran off, screaming for his mother.

"Am I a weak new girl anymore?" she called out after him. Genma whistled softly as he looked at the retreating boy. "Wow, I didn't know he could run that fast. That kid always seemed like a fat ass slow poke to me."

Raidou shook his head at Genma's use of language. "Never mind that. By the way Kagome, nice punch for a girl."

Kagome didn't know whether to be offended or to be flattered. But she smiled anyway and replied "Thanks Raidou." Then she held up her fist and she asked the two remaining bullies "Any of you boys would like to try?" The two bullies shook their heads before they yelled out "Sorry!!" Then they ran off like scared animals with their tails between their legs. Kushina was laughing at how Kagome took control of the situation.

That girl seriously had spunk!

Then Kagome knelt down beside Iruka again and she smiled at him "There, those boys won't disturb you anymore," she told him. Iruka looked at her with his chocolate brown eyes, sniffling slightly "Thwank you for hulping Nee-san, Gwenma-nii-san and Waidou-nii-san" he said.

Kagome giggled slightly at how he butchered Genma's and Raidou's names like that. Both of the boys looked slightly upset about the way that their names were pronounced by Iruka.

Kagome then looked at his bleeding knees and she asked him "Call me Kagome. Does it hurt?" and she pointed to his knees. Iruka nodded and Kagome smiled again, placing both of her palms over his knees. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated, channelling her miko energy into her palms. Kushina looked at Iruka's healing wounds with amazement. Kagome was really a child with never ending surprises, wasn't she?

"Impressive for someone so young," sounded a voice behind her.

Kushina turned around and noticed that Tsunade was looking at Kagome curiously. "You mean as in her monstrous strength for her age or her healing abilities?" Kushina asked with a smile on her face. Tsunade smiled at Kushina "Both."

"She kind of reminds you of yourself right? I mean she appears to have a talent for the healing arts despite her young age and she also possesses great strength," replied Kushina.

Tsunade nodded lazily "Only I didn't go sticking up for kids I never even met yet. I don't seem to possess that air of righteousness when I was her age…" Kushina laughed as she nodded as well. But Tsunade's smile turned into a frown as she continued to look at the scene "And you know what the strange thing is Kushina? When she fired that punch, she didn't use any chakra. And that is not healing Jutsu she is using."

"Then what is it?" Kushina asked.

Tsunade didn't reply her. She had a look of concentration on her face as she muttered "Interesting… Very interesting…"

"Tsunade-sama?" Kushina called out, but the woman didn't reply her. Instead, she appeared to be in deep thought. Then she snapped out of her thoughts and she cleared her throat "I'll be seeing you around then Kushina. But I hope that we do not meet at the hospital. Shizune!!" she barked.

Shizune immediately appeared out of her hiding place, squeaking "Yes Tsunade-sama!!"

"Come on then, let's go!" she yelled. Shizune sighed and waved goodbye to all her friends before she scampered off after Tsunade. Kushina looked at Tsunade's retreating figure for a few more seconds before she turned her attention back to Kagome, who was done healing Iruka already.

"Better now?" she asked him. Iruka nodded happily before he stood up.

"Thwank you Kagome-nee-tan, Gwenma-nii-san and Waidou-nii-san! My name Umino Iruka. I gotta find Mommy and Daddy now. Bye bye!" he told her cheerfully before waving at the three. Then he ran off.

Kushina appeared beside Kagome, smiling widely.

She ruffled Genma's and Raidou's hair and she placed her hand on Kagome's shoulder. "You did good kiddos, all three of you," she told the three smiling kids. Kagome smiled back at her and she said had a thoughtful look on her face, before she turned to Genma and Raidou.

"I almost forgot. I found you guys!" she said with a smile as she pointed to Genma.

Genma frowned and he yelled out exasperatedly "What?! No fair Kagome-chan! You found us because we tried to help you! No fair! You have to count again!" Kagome shook her head and she said in a stubborn tone "No way! It's your turn to become seeker!"

Genma shook his head and he started to argue with her.

Raidou slapped his own forehead in frustration. Genma was 10 years old and he still acted like he was 5. Shouldn't he act maturely and let Kagome have her own way? He shouldn't try to argue with children. That would only make him seem childish. "Genma, let her have her own way already," Raidou muttered.

Genma frowned "Whose side are you on anyway Raidou?" he snapped.

Then he started to argue with Kagome again. Raidou only groaned he tried to stop the bickering children. Then he held his hands up and said "All right then! I'll be seeker! Genma and Kagome, go hide! Is everyone happy now?" he asked. Genma and Kagome nodded before they smiled.

"All right then, so let's go!" said a now excited Kagome.

So Kagome, Genma and Raidou ran off to play with their friends again while Kushina returned to the bench. Kagome played with all her new friends until the sun went down. It was then that Kushina decided that they had to go home already.

After saying goodbye to all her newfound friends with the promise that she would be back tomorrow, Kagome waved goodbye to them one last time and she went home with Kushina.

Once they got home, Kushina asked Kagome to take a bath. She knew that Kagome had gotten pretty sweaty after the target practise, not to mention playing at the playground added only more sweat. Kushina wouldn't allow Kagome to change back into the clothes she was wearing after the shower; they were still too dirty and sweaty.

So Kushina searched through her apartment for her old clothes.

Her old clothes were too small for Kushina to wear anymore but Kushina thought that they would fit Kagome perfectly. After she found them, she handed them to Kagome, and sure enough, the clothes were just the right size! Then she told Kagome to go and shower and she even taught Kagome how to operate her shower and which soaps to use. When Kagome was showering, Kushina took the time to make dinner. She cooked some rice and fried some vegetables and eggs.

She did not just live on ramen alone, okay?

When Kagome was done with her shower, it was Kushina's turn. She left Kagome to eat dinner with the knowledge that Kagome was clearly capable of eating by herself. If she had such precise aim with a Kunai, surely she would be able to do the simple task of feeding herself? After Kushina was done with her shower, she ate her dinner. After that, Kagome helped her tidy up while she washed the dishes.

Then the both of them watched television and during some point of time, Kagome fell asleep on Kushina's lap.

The red headed Kunoichi smiled gently at the sleeping girl sprawled on her lap. She gently stroked the girl's soft hair, listening to the rhythm of Kagome's breathing. When it was 9 o'clock, there was a knock on the door and Kushina knew that it must be Minato. But she couldn't exactly move, not with Kagome on her lap. She would wake the girl up and Kushina certainly did not want that to happen.

So she called out as softly as she could "There's a spare key under the doormat Namikaze."

Fortunately, Kagome did not stir. But Kushina could hear some rustling coming from the other side of the door, so she assumed that Minato was taking the spare key. The door was unlocked with a click and the door slowly opened. Minato stepped stealthily inside and his heart practically melted at the sight before him.

Kushina and Kagome were on the couch, and Kagome was lying on Kushina's lap, fast asleep. Kushina smiled lightly at Minato as he approached her.

"How was she today?" he asked Kushina with a slight smile. She replied tiredly "We went to the training field. Kagome-chan told me she wanted to practise her aim and prepare herself for the academy. And she's a real prodigy. All her Kunai hit the target. Although she needs to work on her throwing posture a little. Some silver haired brat insulted her about her posture. And Kagome-chan was so embarrassed. After that, we trained some more and I took her out for ramen."

Kushina smiled cheekily at Minato "Which reminds me; you did promise me as much ramen as I can eat right?"

Minato nodded, still unsure why he made that deal in the first place. He was lucky not to go broke by the end of the day if he treated her to as much ramen as she could eat. "After lunch, I showed her around Konoha. Then we went to the park and she made many friends; Raidou, Genma, Aoba, Asuma, Kurenai, little Iruka, Mizuki, Ibiki, Gai, Izumo, Kotetsu, Ebisu and Shizune. Tsunade-sama appears to have taken an interest in Kagome-chan."

Minato's eyes went wide. "Eh? Tsunade-hime? Why?" he asked her.

"Well Iruka was being bullied and they pushed him into the dirt. He got hurt and he wouldn't stop crying so Kagome-chan kicked those bullies' asses. I think she broke one of their noses! She really packs a punch!"

Kushina laughed, recalling the incident.

"Then Kagome healed Iruka and he stopped crying. Tsunade-sama was interested in why Kagome-chan could heal at such a young age. She left after that. Then we went home when the sun went down. She took a bath and I lent her some of my old clothes. Then we watched television and she fell asleep. That's all. Nothing else to report."

Minato chuckled softly "Geez Kushina, you make this sound like a mission report."

She rolled her eyes "Babysitting Kagome-chan is sort of like a mission for me all right? But only the payment is bowls of ramen instead of cash." Minato smiled as he nodded thoughtfully "I suppose so…" He bent down and carefully lifted the sleeping Kagome into his arms.

Kushina hesitated for a moment, before she called out "Namikaze. Listen up for a sec."

"Hmmm?" Minato hummed, carefully making sure that Kagome was comfortable in his arms. "You can bring the kid over again. I wouldn't mind babysitting her a second or third time. She's a sweet kid…like you…" she mumbled the last part out, and her cheeks turned faintly read.

Minato didn't appear to have heard the last part of what Kushina said.

He smiled at the redhead and said "Well Kushina I must say that you're an awesome babysitter. So sure I'll bring Kagome back here if I'm on a mission or something! Bye!" Then he disappeared in a flash of yellow, taking Kagome with him. Kushina looked at the spot where Minato had previously been standing on for a few moments, before she got up from the couch and headed to her bedroom for some well deserved rest.

* * *

Thank you Kuro-no-Tsubasa, Azalie-Kauriu, Ichigo Mirai, kakashixangela, Kuroi 002, Kage Hasu, Nasuki- formally Orihime Girl, Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, Reads-way-2-much, L'Amant de Minuit de Gaara, neko teh smexy dictator, 30sec2kiba, utoi, Saphire Moon Maiden, himitsuri, MikosWish, -Yuna's Reincarnation-1, Music ADD, Rinda-chan, Dark Ice Kitsune, Giss, Ariz0na-Sky, ayashi77, Pissed Off Irish Chick and DeathNoteMaker for reviewing!!!

And special congratulations to MikosWish for guessing that the person crying was Iruka!!! You were the only reader who guessed right!

To reward you for getting it correct, I'm telling you readers a little spoiler in the story. Naraku has something to do with the attack on the Higurashi shrine, and he will also have something to do with the Kyuubi attack. Because he was looking for a certain artifact. And I'm sad to say that I will be following the beginning of the Naruto plotline.

Some of you might know what it means, and some of you probably don't. It's better that way. And oh yes, Minato's lullaby will play a crucial factor during the Kyuubi attack.

Wow, I must say that this story is already doing very good. So far, there have been 119 alerts, 73 favourites, 13 C2s and 4305 hits. So I have a little piece of good news. I WILL NOT ever discontinue this story!!! I do not ever want to discontinue it otherwise I know it will upset a lot of you.

So far, I have already outlined the major plot in my head, now all I have got to do is to put it into words and type it out. I'm updating on Wednesdays, and so far I have updated on every Wednesday, but I can't promise you guys that I can update every week. It depends on how fast I write.

Please review!!!


	7. Ponderings

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 6: Ponderings

The week had passed by quickly in Kagome's opinion. Every day was a brand new adventure for her.

Kagome had spent most of the whole week settling in and getting used to her new life in Konoha. On some days Minato and Kushina would bring her around and introduce her to both their Ninja and civilian friends, and _everyone_ would gush about how cute Kagome was, and how much of a happy family the trio looked like. Kagome had to suppress a giggle every time both Minato and Kushina flushed a deep crimson.

Then at other times Kagome would explore around Konoha without her brother and his female friend, instead dragging Genma and Raidou along for the ride. They would show her all the sights and secret places that only the children knew about in Konoha and it was totally fun. Kagome really liked those two boys, even though they were twice as old as her.

Genma could be very childish at times, and Raidou would be the mature one.

Minato was rather glad at Kushina for introducing Kagome to Genma and Raidou; those two were good kids in Minato's opinion; because he knew their parents, and Minato knew that the two children would watch out for Kagome when he was not around.

So it was true to say that Minato approved of the two boys very nicely. In the evening the trio would all head over to the playground and mingle with their friends.

And Kagome was glad to know that she was going to be in the same class with most of them. Asuma, Shizune, Ebisu, Ibiki and Kurenai were all in her Beginner classes, much to her delight. Genma, Raidou and Gai were studying in the Advanced classes, so it means that they would be graduating soon. Kagome was a little saddened that she wasn't in the same classes as them, and she secretly promised herself that she would catch up to them.

After all, she wasn't referred to as a prodigy of the Higurashi clan for nothing.

And speaking of prodigies, Kagome never saw that young silver haired Ninja ever since their first encounter at the training grounds. When she explored around the village, she didn't ever see him, which was rather strange.

She didn't want to tell Minato about it; because she didn't want to bother him with such a simple matter.

He was pretty busy these days and from what he would tell her he was settling some matters about taking on a student. But it was unofficial yet. Minato would know whether it was approved by today the latest.

Anyway, now that the week was over, it was time to go to the academy. And to put it simply, Kagome was very excited. She only managed to get a few hours of sleep the night before because she couldn't sleep, and when she woke up she still behaved very excitedly. And yet Minato had the tact to give her waffles with a lot of syrup (which was mostly made out of sugar) for breakfast.

Needless to say she grew from an excited state to a hyper state.

Kagome was running around the house, trying to get rid of the sugar rush she was feeling. Meanwhile, Minato was washing the dishes and humming softly to himself in the kitchen. Then they both heard a knock on the door.

"It must be Kushina…" Minato mused to himself.

The red haired Kunoichi had taken quite a liking to his sister and whenever she was free from missions, she would take Kagome along with her to the training grounds to work on her weapons practice. And sometimes she would teach Kagome more about being a Kunoichi.

In some ways it seems like Kushina had taken Kagome on as her very own student.

The knocking on the door continued and the rhythm grew more consistent. If Minato didn't know any better, he would say that Kushina was growing impatient waiting for him to answer the door. He wiped his hands dry on a rag before he made his way to the door. He could hear some very loud mutterings from the door and he smiled, shaking his head slightly. "I'm coming," he called out gently.

By the time he unlocked the door, and opened it, he was face to face with a pissed off Kunoichi. Kushina had her hands folded and she was glaring at him. She was also tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. "Took you long enough Namikaze," she grumbled.

Minato laughed sheepishly and he rubbed the back of his neck furiously. "Heh heh…Sorry…?" he asked uncertainly.

Kushina rolled her eyes and she strolled past him. "So where's the kid?" she asked him. Minato looked confused for a moment before it dawned on him. "Oh you mean Kagome right?" he asked her. Kushina rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Who else could I possibly mean you moron?" she asked him dryly.

Minato didn't appear to have heard that last comment as his eyes scanned the apartment. "Kagome huh? I think," his eyes looked here and there "Wait, I know she's around her somewhere. I just don't know where yet."

And he laughed nervously.

Kushina let out an exasperated sigh and she groaned "Gods Namikaze, you're the number one dolt that ever lived! I wonder how the hell you even became a Jounin much less take care of a child!" Minato laughed sheepishly, that goofy smile still on his face.

"Eh? Sorry, sorry," he told her smoothly, which further added to Kushina's frustration.

She decided to ignore him and instead called out "Kid, where are you?" There was a shout of "My name is not kid!" from behind Minato's favourite couch and Kagome peeked over to look at Kushina.

Kushina frowned when she noticed Kagome trembling slightly and she asked worriedly "Kagome, are you all right? You're shaking."

"Eh? Kagome's shaking?!" Minato all but yelled "Do you need to go to the hospital?!" Kagome flashed them a toothy grin as she shook her head. "I'm all right. I just can't stop moving. It must be because Minato-nii gave me waffles with lots of sugar even when I was already full of energy!!"

Kushina asked Minato as slowly as she could "Namikaze… You mean to tell me you gave an already hyper five year old sugar?!"

Minato nodded meekly, still not understanding what the problem was. "And exactly how much sugar did you give her?" she asked, and judging by the tone of her voice, Kushina did not want to find out. Minato wagged his finger at her as he replied with a cheerful but cute expression on his face "I gave her about half of the bottle of syrup! I know kids like to eat sweet stuff. I did at that age!"

(And if you want to see how Minato looks like, go to this website in deviantart. I swear I really love the way this artist draws Minato. http:// teh-akuma-yoru(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Kyuubi-s-Comeback-79047937. His expression is the same as the very first box. And that comic is read from left to right. There's a sequel to it in case you guys want to read more. And the sequel is even funnier!!! XD. Oh yeah, and if you want to see more silly Minato and Naruto comics from this user, go to this page. http:// teh-akuma-yoru(dot)deviantart(dot)com/gallery/#Yondaime-Minato-Namikaze-Fanart Or you can just click the user instead. That also works.)

Kushina looked at him in a disbelieved way as she slapped her forehead "How the hell did you manage to convince Sandaime-sama to let you take care of a child?" she muttered to no one in particular. Minato didn't appear to have heard that last bit she said, as usual. It seemed that Minato, whether he was aware of it or not, had that uncanny ability to tune out the things he didn't want to hear from her and her only.

'_Why me?_' Kushina thought miserably to herself.

She continued to look at Minato who was now making a fool of himself in front of Kagome and Kushina wondered why the hell did she keep on hanging out with Minato in the first place? He was a total goofball who couldn't even take care of a child; he fed her sugar for cripes sake!!

Minato was also a complete klutz and a total pain in the ass to her. And yet…

Kushina found herself thinking… Minato was also a sweet, kind and caring person who always made her laugh and smile with his antics and childlike demeanour. Hanging out with him made her very happy.

'_Maybe that was why I fell for him in the first place,_' a little voice inside Kushina's head whispered to her.

Kushina's eyes went slightly wide and a slight blush tainted her cheeks. '_Whoa, where did that come from? I must have not gotten enough sleep last night. Yeah, maybe that's why I'm starting to hear things._'

It was then that Kushina noticed that Minato was only inches away from her face. They were nose to nose! Kushina must have spaced out.

Kushina reeled back in surprise and her hand instinctively landed on Minato's cheek. A loud slap reverberated around the room and it was only then that Kushina realized what she had done. She placed her hands over her mouth and her sea green eyes were wide.

"Oh my GOD Minato I am SOOO sorry! I didn't see you there and you shouldn't do that! You scared the hell out of me and it was just a reflex action!! I swear!!" she babbled but Minato held up a hand to silence her. Kushina paled slightly as Minato was looking down. His blonde bangs were hiding his eyes so Kushina couldn't tell whether he was mad at her. But his mouth was set in a grim line.

Kushina feared for the worst.

'_That's it. It's final. I'm a total idiot! I probably ruined our friendship for slapping him for no fucking reason!_' she thought furiously. Kagome was silent as she watched the exchange between her brother and his friend.

"Kushina…" Minato asked her calmly. Kushina gulped and she replied "Yeah?"

Minato looked up and to Kushina's relief his eyes were sparkling and he now had a smile adorned on his lips. "Did you call me Minato just now when you slapped me? Or was I just hearing things?" he asked her. Kushina blinked. 'That was his question? Whether I said his name?'

"I did say your name. Why?" she asked him.

At her reply Minato's smile grew even wider as he yelled "Yes!! Kushina said my name!! Kushina said my name!! This is one of the happiest days of my life!!" Then he began dancing around the room. Kagome and Kushina watched him with a sweatdrop at the back of their heads.

"Minato-nii…" Kagome mumbled, shaking her head slightly. "Tell me about it…" Kushina replied sullenly.

After a few more minutes of prancing around the room, Kushina started to get annoyed at Minato. Geez, Minato seemed to be a great bumbling blonde bundle of energy, didn't he? "Cut it out already Namikaze!!" she snapped.

Those words made Minato stop in his tracks. He disappeared from their sight only to appear in front of Kushina in a gust of wind, and he was pouting.

"Aww come on Kushina!! Call me Minato again!!! You've known me for 3 years already!! Please? Call me Minato again!!" he all but begged in an undignified manner, even adding in a tint of whiny cuteness in his voice. Kushina sighed and she paused for a while. Why did she have to make a blunder and call him by his name? It was just fine for her calling him Namikaze all the while. She only referred him as Minato when he wasn't around to hear her.

Kushina knew that she had to give him an answer or he would never leave her alone. "If I call you by your name again will you be quiet?" she asked him. Minato nodded eagerly "Yeah, I'll be quiet!!"

Kushina sighed and she shifted her eyes to her feet. "Minato…" she mumbled out quickly and softly.

Minato smiled and he closed his eyes, a content look on his face. He let out a pleasurable sigh and Kushina rolled her eyes at his childish behaviour. '_All that just to hear me call him by his name?_' she wondered. '_He's a total idiot…_' she thought, but after a second or two, Kushina allowed a small smile to settle on her lips.

'_But…he's my idiot…_'

As Kushina continued to look at Minato's handsome face, a light blush tainted her cheeks and her heartbeat quickened. Her knees felt weak and she felt a bubbly feeling growing inside of her. '_He's definitely my idiot…_'

Kagome watched the red haired teenager and her brother with a knowing smile.

The way her elder brother acted around this girl was very different from the way he acted around other girls. Well, Kushina was not an ordinary girl; in fact, she was the only tomboy that Kagome knew. Anyway, Minato would just be polite to them, and sometimes kind to them, which was why they always referred Minato as 'their cool and totally handsome Minato-sama!'

But when he was with Kushina, Minato acted like a total goofball and child. He would whine and pout and stuff.

The only people he showed that side of him to was Jiraiya, Sandaime Hokage-sama (Sometimes, but Jiraiya has to be in the room with him), Kagome, Tsunade, a few of his closest friends and lastly Kushina.

So it was pretty obvious to Kagome that her brother liked the Kunoichi, so why didn't they just confess and get it over with?

Kagome inwardly sighed. Maybe those two weren't ready to confess their feelings to each other yet. Kagome smiled slightly, but…when they all grew older, Kagome will be sure to help match make them. Without a doubt.

They made such a cute couple, in her mind at least…

Kagome looked at the two before her eyes wandered to the clock on the wall. Then, almost robotically, Kagome walked up to Minato and she tugged on his Jounin vest. Minato looked down at her and he placed his hand atop her head.

"What's wrong Kagome-chan?" he asked her.

Kagome pointed to the clock and Minato stared at it, not knowing what the problem was. The clock didn't stop or anything, so he didn't know what she was trying to tell him. "Hey Minato…." Kushina called out slowly.

Minato brightened up and he swivelled his head in her direction.

"Yes?!" he responded enthusiastically and eagerly. Kushina didn't seem to notice how happy he was again as her eyes were also fixed at the clock. "Doesn't the academy opening ceremony start at 8am, and weren't you supposed to have that meeting with Sandaime Hokage-sama about the matter of you taking a student at 7.45am?"

Minato nodded and frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?" he asked her.

She rolled her eyes and replied "Look at the damn time and you'll understand. If not, then you really need to get your brains checked." Minato did as he was told and looked at the clock. The time was 7.55am. '_Oh…7.55'_

Minato blinked.

'_………'_

He blinked again.

_'__………__Hang on a minute. 7.55?!?!?!_' Minato thought frantically. He was late!!! And Kagome might end up being late.

"Oh crap Kagome-chan!!!! Come on, we have to go now!!!!" then he picked up his sister and concentrated. But after a second or two he cursed. "Damn, I forgot I didn't mark the academy. I guess we have to run there, and fast." Kushina sighed and she took Kagome from Minato's arms. "You go ahead to the office. I'll take her to the academy. You're already late. And you can't possibly stay for the opening ceremony. So I guess I'll stay in your place."

Minato looked grateful to her. "Thanks a lot Kushina! Remind me to treat you out to ramen the next time you stop by."

Kushina smiled "Will do Minato. So go already." He nodded and smiled slightly. Then he disappeared in a flash of yellow and Kushina looked at Kagome, who was in her arms. "So do you need to bring anything along?" she asked her.

Kagome shook her head and Kushina put her down. "Climb on my back and hold on tight okay? This way, we'll get there faster."

Then she bent down and Kagome climbed on her back. Kushina used her hands to support Kagome and made sure she didn't fall. Then she walked to the window, opened it and jumped outside. Kagome laughed in delight as Kushina leaped past the rooftops. Soon the academy came into view and Kushina leapt down from the building.

Then Kagome slowly got off her back and she smiled happily at the red haired teenager.

"That was so fun Kushina-san!" Kagome said with delight. Kushina smiled and ruffled her hair. "Well then, we'd better get going." Kagome nodded and she took Kushina's hand and she eagerly dragged the teenager through the gates of the academy, to the place where she spotted most of her friends with their parents.

And the good thing was; the second the two crossed the gates, the clock struck 8.

* * *

Thank you Ichigo Mirai, 4get me not, EAnIL, Kuro-no-Tsubasa, Ariz0na-Sky, Lovelywitch, Kuroi 002, Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, Giss, Iciness, Music ADD, Lily887787, utoi, ayashi77, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Kawaii girl 4 life, himitsuri, Hells Twilight, -Yuna's Reincarnation-1, kakashixangela, Nasuki -formally Orihime Girl, Dark Ice Kitsune, Haru Inuzuka, MikosWish, Reads-way-2-much, Kage Hasu, Kairi0403, SesshoumaruKougaNarakuFanGirl, zoey tamagachi, Rinda-chan and honey-senpai for reviewing!!

Well the next chapter will be about the academy, and let's say that it will be an interesting first day for Kagome and friends.

In case some of you are wondering about the change in her personality, for example in the first few chapters Kagome was polite and quiet, and now she seems different. Well my answer is that she is a shy person, and she is slowly getting used to this new life of hers, so hence her change in personality.

I'm not exactly sure what age do I want Kagome to graduate as of yet. But I'm thinking that she could graduate the academy in the lines of a year while her friends graduate in like 3 years. The reason is because Genma and Raidou are going to be graduating soon, and I am considering putting her in a team with them. As for who their sensei will be, suggestions are more than welcome. I still have no clue who can their sensei be.

But I can tell you that Minato is not an option. He will already be saddled up with Kakashi. And he can't possibly take up 4 Genins. Kushina is only a Chunin, so she can't be a Jounin sensei yet. So, any suggestions?

Please review!!


	8. Ninja Academy

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

This is an author's note. Please read, I have no idea how the academy system works, since everybody graduates at different time spans. Like Kakashi graduated in like 6 months, while some 1 or 2 years and I think the Naruto gang graduated in like what…5 years? So to make things easier for everyone, including me, I came up with this. Let's just say that the academy has 3 levels, and each level can be completed in 1 year or less. So the total time spent at the academy is 3 years for an _ordinary_ Ninja.

The three levels are 'Beginner', 'Intermediate' and 'Advanced'.

Kagome is going to be in the Beginner stage. But she won't be for long. You can advance to the next stage if you have learnt and mastered all the things that they have taught you in your current stage. For ordinary Ninja, it takes them 1 year each.

But if you are a fast learner, it can take you less than 1 year, an example is Kakashi. So basically the concept of the academy is simple. Master a stage, and you advance. Doesn't have to take a year, can be less. But overall it depends on their ability to learn.

Thanks for reading!

* * *

Chapter 7: Ninja Academy

As the opening ceremony went on, Kagome sat next to all her friends and they tried their hardest to pay attention to the headmaster of the academy when he was making a speech. But it was rather difficult for them since they were only children and most of Kagome's friends could not understand half the words the man said. And not to mention the tone in his voice was extremely dull.

So it was a wonder that most of the new academy students didn't drone off to sleep.

Kushina tried to stifle a yawn as she tried her hardest not to fall asleep, and on her feet too. She was tired from a mission that ended quite late last night, and the sound of the man's voice did not help her to try and stay awake at all. She tried to pay attention to what he was saying, she really did. But his low dull voice sounded like a mosquito buzzing in her ear.

Kushina forced herself to stay awake and she knew that she had to do something to keep herself awake.

She finally settled on looking around the academy and tuning the man's voice out. That worked quite well, although she did get some disapproving looks from the parents around her. Kushina ignored them and she let her eyes wander towards the new students. She could see Kagome, and it was surprising that the small girl was awake, and that she was paying attention.

The other kids surrounding her were all looking around like Kushina was, and some of them were even asleep. The remainder of them were talking to their friends.

Kushina shifted her attention back to the man giving the speech when she noticed that the adults around her were clapping. The headmaster gave a small bow and he exited. Kushina heaved a small sigh of relief as the opening ceremony had officially ended. Now it was time for all the students to get sorted into their classes and for the lessons to begin. Kushina could go home and sleep now.

Ah, the joy…

As she caught sight of Kagome in the crowd of moving students, Kagome met Kushina's eyes and Kushina gave her a small smile and a wave. Kagome waved back and she disappeared through the doors of the academy. Kushina turned around and she was just about to leave when a familiar voice made her freeze in her tracks.

"Kushina-chaaaaaaaaaan? Is that you?"

Kushina visibly flinched; she knew that voice anywhere. She hesitantly turned around and looked for the person who called her with a look of dread on her face. She forcibly smiled as she waved to the person. "Jiraiya," she greeted curtly. She had to treat him with respect; after all, he was Minato's sensei.

But he was a pervert that peeked at her countless times at the Hot Springs!!

The white haired man was grinning as he strolled to her side "What are you doing at the academy?" he asked her cheerfully. "I could ask the same for you, you pervert," she responded, trying her best not to blush. He still made her blush with embarrassment every time she saw him!! Needless to say, Kushina tried her very best to avoid Jiraiya.

Jiraiya grinned "Touché."

"Fine then. Minato was late for a meeting with Hokage-sama, so I brought Kagome to the Ninja academy in his place," Kushina replied "Your turn, I already told you my reason. So now you tell me yours."

Jiraiya looked unhappily at her and he sighed "I'm on probation for some time; Hokage's orders. I'm stuck working at the academy for as long as Sarutobi-sensei sees fit."

Kushina frowned "Why are you on probation?"

Jiraiya scratched his cheek and he replied sheepishly "Err, let's just say that Sarutobi-sensei caught me gambling on working hours. He was devastated to know that I, his prized student if I might add, was a compulsive gambler. So he's pretty determined to make sure that I kick the habit."

Kushina was not convinced. Jiraiya was hiding something, and she knew it. "Is that all? Or is there another reason to it?"

Jiraiya laughed nervously and he averted his gaze from Kushina's doubtful eyes. "Why would you think something like that Kushina-chan? Don't you trust me?" Kushina gave Jiraiya a dry look and she replied "As if I could trust a lecher like you. And Jiraiya, everyone in the village knows Tsunade-sama is also a compulsive gambler. But she isn't on probation like you are. So why are YOU on probation?"

Jiraiya shrugged "I guess I can't keep it from you then. Well, Sarutobi-sensei received many complaints about me from the villagers so I'm on probation until he believes that I'm a changed man."

"Let me guess; every young women in the village complained about you peeking at them in the Hot Springs," Kushina guessed in a bored tone.

Jiraiya's mouth opened in shock and he stared at her. "How did you know that!?" he asked her curiously in a loud voice. Kushina smirked as she turned around. "Because I was one of the complainers," she replied in a pleased voice.

Then without looking back to the pervert, Kushina waved and she stepped out of the academy, heading straight for home.

Jiraiya was going to be stuck teaching snotty-nosed brats until he stopped being a pervert. That would never happen. So it means that he was stuck at the academy for good. Ah, revenge was good…

But Kushina stopped dead in her tracks after walking for a minute or two. Wait, Jiraiya was on probation; so he was teaching AT the Ninja academy. And Kagome was currently studying AT the Ninja academy. Jiraiya's probation will be lifted when he stops spying on women at the Hot Springs; which means he has to stop being a pervert. Kushina shook her head; that would never happen.

If he did stop being such a pervert, time would stop, it would be the end of the world, hell would freeze over, Kushina wouldn't love ramen, she and Minato would get married, and well you get the idea. (AN: But the last one does become true, lol.)

Wait, back to the problem at hand here, Kushina thought with a frown. There was a chance that Jiraiya was going to be the academy instructor for Kagome's class. The chance may not be high since there were 12 classes in total at the academy; 4 'Beginner' classes, 4 'Intermediate classes' and lastly 4 'Advanced' classes. And since Jiraiya was such a high ranking Ninja, he might teach the more advanced classes instead of the Beginner classes.

But there was still a chance that he might end up teaching Kagome's class. And who knows, Jiraiya might end up corrupting the next generation of Ninja by teaching them perverted stuff. Okay, it was official, revenge sucked like hell…

* * *

Kagome silently followed the rest of her class as one of the academy teachers guided them to their designated classroom. Kurenai and Asuma were walking beside her from the left while Shizune and Ebisu were by her right. Ibiki was walking in front of them. And the five of her friends, like the rest of her classmates, were eagerly looking around their surroundings. Kagome also took some time to look around.

The inside of the academy was rather big. The ceiling was high and the space between the two walls was rather wide.

There was also a bookish smell in the air. That fact wasn't surprising. No matter how you look at it, this was still a school after all. The only difference was that this was a school for graduating Ninja. Kagome snapped out of her thought when she noticed the crowd slowing down. Their academy teacher had come to a halt in front of a door to the classroom and she opened it. The door was blocking her face from view so Kagome couldn't get a look.

"Step inside children. And you may sit anywhere you like," she said in a gentle but commanding voice.

Kagome and her class willingly obeyed the academy teacher without making so much as a noise. They entered the classroom and Kagome opted to sit in the front of the class. That way she could pay close attention. Ibiki also sat in the front, but he sat at the corner, a few seats away from her. Shizune sat at the seat on Kagome's left while Kurenai sat at her right. Asuma sat directly at the back with Ebisu.

The two must not want to pay attention.

Kagome shook her head and she looked at the teacher, well at the back of the teacher. Their academy teacher had turned around and was writing on the blackboard with a piece of chalk. Their academy teacher had long wavy black hair that was tied up in a low ponytail. She was wearing the standard Ninja uniform of Konohagakure.

The academy teacher stopped writing and she turned around to face the class, a small smile on her face.

Kagome and her friends all found their eyes widening slightly in shock. The academy teacher bore a striking resemblance to Kagome! She looked a lot like Kagome, or Kagome looked a lot like her. The only difference between the two was that she was older than Kagome; she looked to be 18 years old, and that Kagome's eyes were blue while hers were black. The academy teacher could as well be how Kagome would look like when she grew up.

If she and Kagome went out together in the streets the two could pass off as sisters and nobody would be none the wiser about it.

The academy teacher seemed to notice this as well. Because her eyes were scanning around the classroom at her new students, and when they landed on Kagome, there was a spark of curiosity and amusement flashing in her black eyes.

'Interesting,' she thought to herself. But she put those thoughts away; she had to introduce herself to her class first.

"All right class," she began, the smile still on her beautiful pale face "I'm your teacher. And I'm very pleased to meet you all. Later on there's going to be another teacher coming into this class and he's your other teacher. He's in charge of your outdoor activities while I am in charge of your classroom activities. If there are any questions please feel free to ask me."

Shizune raised her hand and she asked "Why are there two teachers?"

Their teacher replied "Each class has two teachers. One will be in charge of the lessons you have outside and the other will be in charge of the lessons you have inside. I am the teacher in charge of your lessons inside the classroom. And also having two teachers will lighten the work load you students give us because we split the work equally among the two of us."

"Do the two teachers have to be one guy and one girl?" another unknown classmate asked as he raised his hand.

"Yes they have to be one male and one female, that way the male teacher can teach the boys all about being a Ninja while the female teacher teaches the girls how to be proper Kunoichi," she said calmly.

"Who's the guy teacher?" asked Asuma gruffly.

"You'll find out soon. And I think some of you might have heard of him from your parents. After all, he is a rather famous Ninja," she said with a mysterious twinkle in her black eyes. Okay, now everyone in the class was curious about this new male teacher.

"Are there any more questions?" she asked as she looked around.

This time, it was Kurenai who raised her hand. "Yes?" the teacher asked. Kurenai looked a bit nervous and she asked "Ano…sensei, I was wondering if you could tell me your name? I don't know how to read the Kanji on the board yet," and she looked down to her knees, her black bangs hiding her eyes.

Kagome took a good look at the blackboard. ((桔梗先生)) was written on the blackboard.

Their teacher smiled easily and she replied "There's nothing wrong with you not being able to read my name yet. You're still a young child, so it's all right," Kurenai looked up and she relaxed slightly when she saw their teacher's kind expression.

"For some of you who don't know, my name is Kikyo, and you can call me Kikyo-sensei," then she took a look at the clock "And your other teacher should be in about half a minute, judging by his chakra signal."

Then she turned around and picked up the chalk, writing on the blackboard again.

Kagome closed her eyes and she concentrated. She felt someone approaching their classroom by his aura. And he felt relatively familiar. Kagome smiled slightly and she opened her eyes; she knew who their other teacher was.

And just to be sure, she looked at the blackboard. ((自来也先生)) was written.

Kikyo put the chalk down and she turned around to face the students. Then with a secretive smile she took out a Kunai from the weapons pouch on her leg. Kagome could sense the aura right outside the classroom now. The door gave a click and the doorknob turned. Kikyo looked at the door and she took careful aim. The door opened and Kikyo threw her Kunai. The Kunai whizzed past the intruder, missed his ear by a few millimetres and hit the door of the classroom opposite from theirs.

Then Kikyo folded her arms and she smiled dangerously at the intruder, who was sweating with nervousness. Well, he had almost gotten hit with a Kunai and he didn't even sense it coming!!

"You're late…Jiraiya-sama," Kikyo said with a dangerous twinkle in her black eyes. Everyone was quiet as they watched.

Jiraiya shuddered slightly. Geez, that young academy teacher was as dangerous as Tsunade!! But she didn't even look dangerous! In fact, she had a very sweet smile and she looked like a sweet young woman when she wasn't throwing Kunai at you with deadly aim.

That teacher could pass off as innocent looking while Tsunade will instantly be labelled as 'Dangerous' because of that look she gave other men.

But, Jiraiya had to admit, with a goofy grin plastered on his face, that that academy teacher was one sexy and beautiful young woman. An enchantress, a siren, like on of the creatures that seduced men to be exact…

And Jiraiya just knew that he was digging his own grave when he looked at her chest. She raised her eyebrow at him when she noticed WHERE he was staring at. Tsunade had not been wrong in the slightest when she warned Kikyo about Jiraiya's perverted nature after learning that the young woman was going to be teaching in the same class with her perverted teammate.

"Is there something wrong?" Kikyo asked him. Jiraiya knew that she was hinting at him to stop looking at her chest, he was already digging his own grave. And Jiraiya had to _tact_ to seal his fate the moment he asked her "Is that a D-cup?"

* * *

Thank you Giss, Kuro-no-Tsubasa, Ichigo Mirai, Funabisenu, kakashixangela, EAnIL, Ariz0na-Sky, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, ayashi77, Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami, Muzic ADD, Iciness, Hells Twilight, SesshoumaruKougaNarakuFanGirl, utoi, Saphire Moon Maiden, Demonic kunoichiKagi, craziness101, zoey tamagachi, honey-senpai, RoseGlass, Kawaii girl 4 life, Kitsune Kunoichi Koe, hermonine, ShinoHina4eva, HentaiVixen, 4get me not and LeClas for reviewing!!

So Kagome's academy teacher is Kikyo. Look, I'm not a Kikyo fan nor am I a Kikyo hater. So there is no Kikyo bashing in this story. But I will admit this, in the Anime I thought that Kikyo looked very beautiful. And if you're wondering, Kagome doesn't really look like Kikyo in the Anime. But she looks like Kikyo in the Manga!

I'm following the Manga, so that is why Kagome has blue eyes instead of brown.

And as for Kagome's Jounin sensei, I've already figured it out. But he has long silver hair and amber eyes. For some of you, her Jounin sensei is not who you think he is!

Kanji: 桔梗先生: Kikyo-sensei (For those Chinese, these characters look kind of funny right? Here's the Han Yu Ping Ying for these characters in Chinese, and also their meanings in Chinese. 'Jie Ke Xian Sheng': Mister Kikyo. XD considering the fact that Kikyo is a woman.)

Kanji: 自来也先生: Jiraiya-sensei (Here's the Han Yu Ping Ying for these characters as well as their meanings in Chinese. Zi Lai Ye Xian Sheng: Mister Jiraiya)

Please review!


	9. Affairs of the Heart

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 8: Affairs of the Heart

Kagome had to admit, although she had only been here for a few hours, Ninja academy was turning out to be pretty interesting. She was glad that she deviously conned Minato into letting her go earlier.

After Jiraiya had asked Kikyo if her bust size was a D-cup, Kikyo had smiled calmly and nodded. Jiraiya looked pleased… but that was only the beginning…

Then she turned to face the class and said "Class, Jiraiya-sama and I will be right back. But first we have something we need to talk about. And class, no matter what noises you here, please do not leave the classroom. Otherwise I can assure you, you will not like what you see."

Then with another calm smile, she motioned for Jiraiya to exit the classroom with her.

The man hesitantly followed, for a good reason too. Jiraiya may act stupid most of the time, but he could be smart when he wanted to; like in serious situations for instance. He knew that he had just woken up a sleeping lion with the comment he made. The class was still deathly quiet as they strained their ears, trying to listen for what was going to happen to Jiraiya next.

Soon after the two teachers left, there was screaming coming from outside and some students flinched at the noises that the man was making.

"Ouch, I so don't want to know exactly what she's doing to him," muttered Asuma. Ebisu nodded hastily. He was slightly pale and he pushed his black glasses closer to his hidden eyes with a shaking finger. All the boys also appeared to be scared for their life.

But the girls on the other hand…

"Kyaa!! Kikyo-sensei is SO cool!!" yelled a girl from their class.

"Yeah, she totally kicks butt!!" another girl agreed.

"That'll teach those perverted guys!!" said another.

But they immediately shut up when the door clicked open and in stepped Kikyo followed by Jiraiya. The man looked like he had seen death itself and Kikyo looked rather pleased at herself.

"Now that there are no more interruptions, let us begin the lesson then," she had said.

The lesson itself was rather pleasant. First, everyone in the class had to play an icebreaker game, everyone including the teachers. "So that we would get to know each other better," as Kikyo had said. The students would take turns to say everything about them, and then they would move on to the next person.

When it came to Kagome's turn, she calmly stood up and faced the rest of her class.

"My name is Namikaze Kagome. I'm 5 this year. My favourite colours are blue and green, but white and pink are good too! I only have an elder brother, Minato-nii! I really like Kushina-san and I think she and Minato-nii would make a great couple! Wait… that's off topic. I want to become a Kunoichi as well the last Miko of my clan, that is my dream," she finished.

Kikyo smiled and replied "Now that's a nice dream. I know you can do it." Kagome looked at her doppelganger with determined blue eyes "I know I can too," she whispered to herself. Then it was another person's turn.

Finally, all the students were finished and now it was time for the teachers turn. Kikyo had gone first.

She had told the class "My name is Kikyo, as I have said before. I'm 18 this year. I have a younger sister named Kaede. Other than my sister, I don't have any other family. My favourite colour is red. And my dream…is to rid the world of perverted men, especially one man in particular." Then she looked at Jiraiya with a dangerous twinkle in her black eyes.

The man shuddered; he had learned his lesson. Never act like a pervert in front of her unless he seriously wanted to die.

"Well my name is Jiraiya, and I'm one of the Densetsu no Sannin. You can call me Jiraiya-sama. And please, just Jiraiya-sama. Not Jiraiya-sensei," he stopped talking when he noticed a male student had raised his hand. "Yes?" Jiraiya asked gruffly.

"Why can't we call you Jiraiya-sensei?" he asked curiously. The other students around him nodded.

Jiraiya sighed and he didn't know how to properly describe it to children. "Well let's see. I don't want you to call me Jiraiya-sensei because I don't want to get bonded with you guys only to have you guys die in battle later on in your life. That happened to two of my three Genin students and the pain was unbearable. So I would rather not go through all that again…" said Jiraiya darkly, and Kagome could sense the guilt and remorse pooling out of him in waves.

"Just kidding!! It's just that Jiraiya-sama sounds way cooler than Jiraiya-sensei!!" he said at the last minute, hoping to amend the dark mood he had set. That seemed to help, for most of the students bought that excuse.

The only people who didn't were Kikyo and Kagome.

"So…continuing. I don't really feel like revealing my age to a bunch of kids. My favourite animal is the Toad because I summon them. My only family is my remaining student Namikaze Minato, who I might add is a complete and utter moron who constantly likes to whine. My dream is to…well I'll tell you when you're older. You children have got to learn about the birds and the bees first. And you won't learn about that until you're like 13 and stuff. Yes?" Jiraiya asked again.

The same boy had raised his hand "Namikaze…Minato? As in the Yellow Flash of Konoha? He's your student?!" he asked excitedly. Jiraiya nodded dully and the class broke into an excited chattering.

"Cool!" the boy had said. And they began gushing out questions to Jiraiya.

Now even though Minato acted like an idiot most of the time, every time someone would compliment Jiraiya about his student and his student's accomplishments, Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a sense of pride swelling in him. Idiot student or not, Minato was quite the celebrity in Konoha. And just saying that the Konoha Yellow Flash was his student got Jiraiya in the good books of the ladies…

Ah, the joys of manipulation…

* * *

It was recess time. Kagome was sitting quietly in the classroom and reading a book she had gotten from the shelf. Apparently, she and Minato were in such a rush in the morning, that the blonde had forgotten to make a Bento for her to bring to school.

So Kagome had to go hungry until school ended.

She didn't mind at all. Right now she was quite content reading the book. It was Arithmetic and she was learning about how Arithmetic could be applied when you threw Kunai and Shuriken. She only knew basic Arithmetic for her priestess training; for firing arrows and whether they would hit their targets. Now she was learning about angles, multiplication and division. Kagome looked up from her book when she heard the door click open.

Jiraiya entered the classroom and he was smiling. "Ah, I knew I would find you here. It's just like my idiot student to forget about making your lunch."

"Jiraiya-sama, why were you looking for me?" Kagome asked as she closed her book. Jiraiya eyed her book and he visibly rolled his eyes. "Studying when you could be outside playing with your friends? You like to study?" he asked her.

Kagome smiled slightly "I find it interesting. And if I go outside and run around, I would only get hungry faster."

Jiraiya nodded. "True. But here," and he walked up to her and handed her a Bento box. Kagome looked at Jiraiya in a confused way. "Here, you can have it. It's not right to starve. You're a growing girl and you need to eat more than I do. And how can I call myself a teacher when I let my student's sister starve?" Jiraiya said as a matter-of-factly. Kagome opened her mouth to speak but he waved her off.

"Just take it and no buts," he told her in a commanding type of voice. Kagome inwardly sighed and she knew that no matter what she said, she wouldn't be able to convince him. So Kagome mumbled "Thank you Jiraiya-sa—sensei."

Jiraiya frowned "I thought I told you that I preferred to be called Jiraiya-sama. It sounds way cooler!"

"No, I don't think it's that reason. I know it's the first reason; you can't really lie to me and Kikyo-sensei. We know the truth. You don't want to lose anyone precious to you anymore. But isn't death part of life? Everyone has to die someday. And when they die, you have to move on and find new precious people to protect. That's the way of life. That's how life works."

Jiraiya was blinking at Kagome in surprise. How did one so young understand so much?

"I think that no one in this world is indispensable. Parents, teachers, Ninja, children, adults, neither I, nor you. Not one of us is necessary. At least not to the world. One person's death barely causes a ripple in the movement of the world. Like clockwork, night will always turn into day. I'm sure the world doesn't need anything or anyone. But that is a terribly sad thing. A terribly lonely thing," Kagome said, looking at the clouds outside.

"Lonely?" Jiraiya repeated softly.

"Yes, lonely. That is why people look to other people for reassurance and help. I'm sure of it. Hoping to find someone they need, hoping to find someone who needs them. Hoping to meet that someone. Human life goes on by the experiences you have and the people you meet. So you should always keep your heart open until you meet that someone who needs you just as you need them."

Jiraiya continued to stare at his student's sister. She was so much younger than him, and yet here she was, preaching him about life.

'Namikaze Kagome…' Jiraiya thought with a small smile on his lips. She was one hell of a child. She really was going to be a great Kunoichi one day. And before she was able to, Jiraiya knew that he would be sure to guide her along the path. It was the least he could do.

After all, she opened his eyes to the world when not even Sarutobi could.

Meanwhile, Kikyo was leaning against the wall outside of the classroom with her arms crossed. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling slightly. Kikyo had returned to the classroom during recess because she had left some documents behind. And when she got there, she had chanced upon the conversation Kagome shared with Jiraiya.

Kagome was a rather interesting young girl. She seemed really wise for her age, unlike most girls her age.

Kikyo straightened herself up before she politely knocked on the door. Kagome had split the food in the Bento box in half. She had one half to herself and she gave the other half to Jiraiya. So they were both eating from the Bento.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Kikyo asked calmly. Jiraiya wiped away the bits of food stuck on his face with his sleeve. "Not really." Kikyo walked in the classroom and to the desk "I just need some documents. You can go back to your lunch." Then she turned and walked to the door. But she stopped at the doorway and she turned around. "Jiraiya-sama, I would offer you a word of advice."

Jiraiya raised his eyebrow in curiosity "Oh?"

"It's best not to hang around young girls alone too much. It would be bad if the other teachers saw you. They might not understand the situation like I do and you might get into serious trouble with Konoha."

Jiraiya nodded "I'll keep that in mind. And thank you Kikyo-sensei. I apologize for acting like a total ass this morning. It was really uncalled for."

Kikyo smiled slightly. She replied calmly "I have already forgiven you for that. Good day to you Jiraiya-sama." And with that said, she exited the room in a graceful manner, her long black hair flowing.

Kikyo made her way back to the staff room and she entered. So far, she was the only person in the room. The other teachers were still teaching their class. And the rest of them were out of the academy for lunch. Kikyo placed the documents in the teacher's pigeon hole and she went back to her desk. She took a seat and resumed her previous work; marking her student's papers.

The room was silent and the only noise was the scraping movement of her red pen on paper. After a while, Kikyo paused from her marking for a while and she took a sip of her coffee. Ah, the joys of caffeine.

Kikyo narrowed her eyes slightly as she felt an unfamiliar aura outside.

This was not the first time that she felt this aura. It had happened for quite a while already. And yet Kikyo still could not catch the perpetrator. The person that was spying on her could only be a highly skilled Ninja. At first, Kikyo had thought that it was Jiraiya, since he was a well known pervert that loved to spy on beautiful women.

And she knew that her stalker had long white hair. So Jiraiya had been a high possibility.

But when she met the pervert, she knew that he wasn't her stalker. His chakra signal was different from her stalker. Now it was time to catch him and determine who he was once and for all. Kikyo turned her head towards the open window and she fired a senbon from her mouth.

The senbon sailed outside and through the leaves of a tree. There was a cry of pain and Kikyo knew that she had hit someone.

She ran towards the window and jumped onto the tree branch. But as expected, her stalker was no where to be seen. Kikyo sighed and she went back into the academy because the bell had rung; it signified that recess was over and that everyone should return to class. Her stalker had gotten away from her again. It was annoying that he had always escaped her clutches.

She would catch him, someday…

* * *

A mysterious lone figure appeared at the top of the Hokage monument in a swirl of wind and leaves. He was standing on the head of the Sandaime Hokage His long hair was blowing with the wind and his amber eyes were distant. He crossed his arms and heaved a sigh of relief.

That had been way too close. He had almost gotten caught.

But he couldn't help spying on the enigma that was Kikyo. He was curious about her. Very curious. He had never been this interested in a person ever since he came to Konoha, and his arrival in Konoha had been a very long ago.

He had only met her once, and yet that one meeting was enough to make him very curious about her; curious enough to stalk her when he wasn't busy.

The figure winced slightly as he felt a mild pain at his arm. His eyes shifted down and he was surprised that there was a senbon sticking out. Interesting… Okay, now his curiosity level about Kikyo was increased.

She was the first woman to ever injure him. Ever…She was the first woman who caught him off guard and even managed to injure him. And she was only a Chunin. Even the average Jounin had a tough time trying to injure him. Not to mention even an average ANBU member would take some time before they could land a hit on him. And yet she only took less than 5 minutes!

She truly was an enigma, and he was determined to solve the puzzle about her. He didn't know why he was doing it. He was quite a busy man; always taking dangerous missions for Konoha. So he should use what little free time he had to relax. But instead he chose to spy on Kikyo.

'_Why?_' He found himself asking. Why was he so interested in her? He didn't know.

Kikyo had only said to him two sentences when he had met her at the annual Konoha Ninja meeting. And yet her two sentences caused his world to go into turmoil. '_Are you truly happy? Or are you lonely?_' she had asked him when she was first introduced to him. Then when he had vehemently replied that he was and that she should just mind her own damn business, she had smiled and calmly replied '_Is that so?_'

Those words, just those words caused him to question himself. How the way he lived his life. How the way he spent his time, always alone and aloof from the rest of the people of Konoha. Devoid of company and friends.

He heaved another sigh and he looked up at the sky. "Mother…I'm so confused right now… What would you have done…?" he whispered softly.

He received no reply and the clouds just continued to float by. The figure let a bitter chuckle escape from his lips. Yes, he really was confused. Why was he speaking to no one? His mother had died a long time ago. She had died 60 years ago.

He shook his head slightly but then he paused when he felt a presence approaching him. "Yes?" he asked cautiously.

An ANBU member materialized behind him and bowed politely. "Hokage-sama is looking for you. He wants to see you immediately." The silver haired man sighed deeply and nodded. "Fine."

Then without another word the two disappeared in a swirl of wind and leaves. They reappeared in the Hokage office and the Hokage looked up from his desk. "Ah, just the Ninja I wanted to see. I have a mission for you… Inuyasha."

* * *

Thank you utoi, Azalie-Kauriu, Funabisenu, Giss, Ichigo Mirai, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami, Lily887787, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Lovelywitch, Pissed Off Irish Chick, zoey tamagachi, C.A.Q, Music ADD, SesshoumaruKougaNarakuFanGirl, Bloodia LoveStar146, kakashixangela, Kurai Mori, Kuro-no-Tsubasa, Midnight's Storm, Rinda-chan, BlondeKell, MikosWish and 4get me not for reviewing!!!

Kikyo has a stalker; Inuyasha. Don't worry, his past will be revealed in later chapters. And I'm sorry but Inuyasha will be Kagome's Jounin Sensei, not Sesshoumaru. But Sess will still be making an appearance in this story. He will just appear much later, when Kagome is like 16 or 17.

Also, I plan for Kikyo to fall in love with Inuyasha and vice versa. So this will be an Inuyasha/Kikyo pairing. Readers who hate Inuyasha/Kikyo pairngs then I'm terribly sorry!!! But Kikyo and Inuyasha's romance plays an important role in the future. You'll just have to bear with me here!

And don't worry, Kagome won't be alone. She will be paired up with a guy from Naruto that we all love. A certain lazy porno addicted Ninja. Hmm, I seem to be really loving that pairing.

And while I was typing out Inuyasha's thoughts, it made me realize something. In the Anime and Manga, Inuyasha and Kikyo's romance is similiar to Kyoko and Katsuya Honda from Fruits basket. The only thing was that Inuyasha is like Kyoko and Kikyo is like Katsuya.

Please review!!!


	10. An Invite To Dinner

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

Jumpingbeans480: Oh, and just a quick note over here. It seems that I messed up Anko's age here. So instead of not being born yet in this story, she is already 3 to 4 years old. It seems that when I was checking her age, I looked at her age in Part 1. So my bad!

* * *

Chapter 9: An Invite to Dinner

Kagome certainly did not expect anyone to pick her up from school when it ended. She had thought that she was going to walk home by herself. So she was surprised when she saw someone familiar waiting for her at the gates. But Kagome was even more surprised when the person that picked her up was her elder brother.

"Minato-nii what are you doing here?" Kagome asked in a curious tone as she walked towards the gates of the academy.

Minato was leaning against the entrance gates with a cool expression etched on his face. And the Academy students, especially all the girls, that happened to pass by the two siblings were ogling at Minato. Kagome couldn't really blame them very much. Spiky blonde locks that were the colour of the sun, piercing blue eyes that seemed to see through your very soul, pouty but totally kissable and seemingly soft lips; Minato was every girls dream come true. Especially to a certain red head named Kushina…

Kagome smiled inwardly at that thought. Minato was a very handsome teenager whether he was aware of the fact or not. But… judging by how Minato normally behaves, he probably didn't know about his good looks at all.

He was totally clueless more like it…

Yeah… That sounded about right to Kagome. Minato smiled warmly at his sister and waved cheerfully. "What does it look like? I'm picking you up after school like a good big brother should. How was your first day of school? So did you have fun today?" he asked her in a still cheerful manner. Kagome grinned from ear to ear and replied she enthusiastically "It was great! I learned a lot of things today and I even have Jiraiya-sensei as a form teacher! I didn't have anything to eat for lunch today so he shared with me some of his!"

A dawn of realization flashed in Minato's blue eyes and a look of horror crossed his face.

"Lunch!! Oh my Kami Kagome I am so sorry!! I forgot to make lunch for you to bring to school today!!! Did you go hungry?! Oh I know you went hungry!! I'm such a bad big brother!! I have no right to call myself an elder brother!!! I don't want to lose you!! I know that they're going to come and take you away because I could not even remember to feed you!!" Minato kept on babbling out his 'supposed' apology and Kagome opened her mouth to tell him that everything was all right.

Well, she tried to at least.

Minato was too distracted to pay any attention to her. In fact, he was acting very much like Kagome when she had met that strange silver haired Ninja. In other words, Minato was acting like a flustered chicken that looked like it was about to get it's head chopped off.

Well, at least now Kagome knew where she got _that_ strange behaviour from.

Kagome noticed that many of the academy students were staring at them now; the two siblings who were making a total scene. She sighed deeply and she placed her finger on his lips to silence him. It worked; Minato stopped talking and he looked curiously at Kagome. "Minato-nii, calm down okay? I told you, Jiraiya-sensei shared his bento with me for lunch today. So I didn't go hungry at all. And I'm not mad at you or anything."

"……Jiraiya-sensei?" Minato muttered "What's he doing at the academy?" he asked her curiously in a mumbled tone.

Kagome shrugged "He's our homeroom teacher. Didn't I say that already? Are you paying attention to me or not?" Minato's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he heard her reply. "EH?!?!" he yelled in an undignified tone. Everyone continued to stare at them. Kagome fidgeted uncomfortably under their gazes but she tried to ignore them and pay attention to what was happening now.

Minato weakly lifted a finger at his sister as he struggled to find his voice. "Ji-Jiraiya…sensei…?"

Kagome sighed again and she replied "I think he's on probation or something on the Hokage's orders. He won't tell me more than that. But Minato-nii, Jiraiya-sensei isn't such a bad teacher. You of all people should know that right? So just relax already. I don't think that Jiraiya-sensei is a paedophile or anything so he won't do anything bad. But that doesn't mean that he won't flirt with the other female teachers…" Kagome mumbled out the last part as she recalled Jiraiya asking Kikyo about her breast size.

Minato sighed in an exasperated way and muttered out "I know that I can trust Jiraiya-sensei to be an excellent teacher when he wants to be… But……that man will never change his perverted ways. And who taught you that word?" he asked her.

Kagome blinked "What word?"

After a second of silence it occurred to her. "Oh, you mean paedophile right Minato-nii? Well, I learned it back at the shrine. After priestess training, I would read quite a lot and sometimes I even read a dictionary to pass the time. Then I picked up the word from the dictionary." Minato stared at his sister and Kagome looked at him innocently. "You read a dictionary?" he repeated slowly and Kagome nodded, not understanding what the problem was.

Kagome was a five year old and she read dictionaries to pass the time…… Doesn't she ever do things children her age should be doing? Like playing outside with their friends and making mud pies and stuff? He used his hands to rub his temple; Minato knew that a migraine was coming along.

Sometimes in a way, Kagome was exasperating.

Don't get him wrong; of course Minato loved his sister. But sometimes the way she behaves way too maturely for her age was enough to drive any brother insane. It seems like in their small family, Minato was the one that behaved like a total child playing Kagome's role while Kagome played the responsible adult, his role.

Kagome asked him when she was not used to the sudden silence of her brother "So why did decide to pick me up Minato-nii?"

Minato smiled wearily at her. "I finished my meeting with the Hokage and the results are in. And…" he paused for a dramatic effect. "I'm getting a new student." A smile lit on Kagome's face and she said "That's great news Minato-nii! So how is he like?"

"Well…I've already met with him earlier today and he's an all right kid. He's just shy, kind of like you once were when you first came to Konoha. So I told him that I will be going to his house for dinner. I would like to speak with his father about some matters and I wanted to bring you along. My student is almost the same age as you and I want you to be friends with him. So do you want to come along?" he asked her in just one breath.

Kagome blinked, and then she smiled brightly "Okay!"

Minato ruffled her hair slightly and he picked her up in his arms. Kagome knew him long enough to guess what was going to happen next. They were going to get home the fast way. Minato was about to use his Hiraishin no Jutsu before a thought occurred to him.

"Whoops! Almost forgot!" Minato said and he placed his hand on the gate of the academy.

Then Kagome felt a slight flare of chakra and Minato pulled back his hand. "There, now I can get to this place immediately in case of an emergency or anything," he told her calmly. Kagome knew that he must have marked the academy gate for his Hiraishin no Jutsu.

"Now we're going home to get you a change of clothes first!" he told her cheerfully and she nodded.

Then they were gone in a flash of yellow, with the eyes of every student at the academy watching them in awe. Jiraiya was looking at the spot where his student and his sister stood from the window of the staff room. He shook his head and chuckled slightly; Minato always did love to show-off.

* * *

Kagome and Minato appeared in their apartment in a flash of yellow. Minato then set Kagome down gently on the floor. Kagome then looked curiously at him and asked "When are we going to leave the house Minato-nii?"

He smiled at her and replied "Let's get you a change of clothes first Kagome. Then we'll leave."

Kagome nodded and they both went into her room. Kagome's room was actually Minato's study, but they had converted it into her bedroom. The scrolls and family Jutsu that were previously stored in the study were currently cramped in the closet. And during the week before Ninja school began, Minato and Kushina had taken Kagome shopping for all her clothes and furniture. So the study didn't look like a study anymore and it looked like Kagome had lived there her whole life.

Minato opened her wardrobe and he peered at all the clothes stacked neatly inside.

"Hmm…" he hummed thoughtfully. "Now what do we have here?" Kagome stood beside him and she also looked at her clothes, wondering what to wear. Finally, she spotted something she liked and she strolled past Minato, taking a hanger that held a simple summer dress.

"How's this Minato-nii?" she asked him.

Minato pondered on it for a moment as he tried to imagine Kagome in the summer dress. When he finally saw the image in his mind, he gave Kagome a thumbs-up and he nodded. Kagome then walked out of her room to the toilet and closed the door.

Minato leaned against the wall opposite of the toilet door as he waited patiently outside while Kagome changed.

But after a while he decided he also needed a change of clothes, so he went to his room and selected something casual. Then he heard the door click open and Minato stuck his head out into the hallway. Minato felt his jaw drop as he looked at his sister.

"Kagome-chaaaaan you look soooooooo KAWAII!!!" he yelled out happily, and then he gladly ran and glomped her. Kagome struggled uncomfortably under the strength of his hug.

"Minato-nii, it's difficult to breathe," she told him in a forced tone. Minato realized his blunder and he immediately let go of her. He then rubbed the back of his neck and laughed sheepishly. "Gomen Kagome-chan! But you just look so cute!!! I'm sure Kakashi-kun will love to be your friend!!"

Kagome raised her eyebrow. "Kakashi?" she repeated.

Minato made an 'O' with his mouth and a silence passed between them. After a second he smiled and declared "Oops! I forgot to tell you didn't I? Silly me! Kakashi is the name of my new student. Hatake Kakashi. That's his name."

Kagome smiled serenely "I hope he's nice. He's lucky to have you for a sensei."

Minato returned her smile and he knelt down so he was eye level to her. "Now Kagome-chan," he began, his voice serious "There is something you need to know about Kakashi-kun. And about his father, Sakumo-sama, so I want you to pay close attention, okay? And please, no interruptions. You can ask me only when I'm finished talking okay?"

Kagome nodded; for Minato to change from goofy to serious in a moment, it meant that he was not joking around anymore and whatever he had to say has to be taken seriously.

"You know Jiraiya-sensei is one of the Densetsu no Sannin right? Well everyone in the village respected Sakumo-sama on the same level as the Sannin because he was a genius and every mission he took was a success. He didn't fail a mission once, even when he went on the most difficult of missions that nobody but him could complete. That is, until he went on that mission," Minato said sadly.

Kagome perked her ears "What happened on that mission Minato-nii?" she asked him.

"Sakumo-sama was on a mission and he had to make a choice. He could abandon the mission and save the lives of his comrades or he could let them die and then complete the mission. But instead, Sakumo-sama chose to save their lives. Konoha incurred serious losses and Sakumo was disgraced by everyone in the village including the lives of the companions he saved," Minato said with a sad smile.

Kagome frowned "That's not fair at all!"

Minato nodded "Tell me about it, and now because Sakumo-sama is his father, Kakashi-kun cannot really fit in. No one wants him to be on the same squad with them, no one—" Kagome cut him off "But you?" she finished with a small smile.

"Yes. So try to be nice to the both of them okay?" he asked her.

"You have my word Minato-nii, a priestess's honour!" she said with a confident smile. Minato found her smile contagious and he couldn't help but smile as well. He ruffled her hair a bit before he gave her a peck on her cheek. "That's my girl," he whispered, before he stood up and made his way to the bathroom.

It was his turn for a change of clothes.

* * *

Minato took a look at himself in the mirror and once he was satisfied with his appearance, he smiled to himself and called out "Kagome, it's time to leave!" Then he exited his bedroom, but not before switching off the lights. He was bursting with anxiety.

He was finally going to meet Hatake Sakumo. THE Hatake Sakumo. Sure, he had met the man a few times before since Jiraiya was good friends with 'The White Fang'. But that was the point. He had met the man WITH Jiraiya. And now his perverted sensei was not going to follow him. He had to go alone. Well technically not alone since Kagome was also tagging along. Actually, asking Kagome to follow him was because he did not want to go alone.

But Minato also thought that she could be friends with Kakashi. So he was killing two birds with one stone here.

And every time he met 'The White Fang', it was all because of Jiraiya dragging him along. You see, sometimes Jiraiya and Sakumo would go out drinking. And they would end up dead drunk. So who would be there to get them home?

Minato.

With his Hiraishin no Jutsu, he would send them home in a second flat. And Jiraiya knew that Minato wouldn't get drunk because Minato was still below the drinking age. And Minato also happened to be the model Ninja of Konoha. He always abided by the rules. _Always_.

But even though Sakumo was usually dead drunk when Minato saw him, Minato could already tell that 'The White Fang' was a good person.

He did not deserve to be treated badly by the villagers. Sakumo deserved to be treated like a hero he was and the man was still a hero in Minato's eyes. Who cares about what the other villagers think about Sakumo?

Minato still respected Sakumo and his respect grew when he learned what Sakumo had done. The lives of your friends really were more important than the sake of a mission. You could get the money back sooner or later from other missions; but once your friends died, they wouldn't come back to life. And it's unheard of to meet another person who looks and acts exactly like your dead friend. That was just wishful thinking from a grieving person.

So yeah, saving the lives of your companions seemed like the better choice. And here was another matter that Minato had thought about. There is more than enough money in the world. They make more of it everyday. But the same person won't stumble into your life twice once he's dead.

But those ungrateful companions…

Sakumo had made it possible for them to return back alive to see their friends and families again, and yet they treated that matters like it was nothing, and instead turned on him like the rest of the villagers.

Minato's sharp blue eyes flashed anger for a moment as he thought about the villagers' hostile behaviour towards Sakumo and his son.

He had really found it unfair. He had been with a meeting with Jiraiya and the Hokage when he had heard the news, and like his sensei and the Hokage, they believed what Sakumo did was right. He had displayed that he had the Will of Fire within him.

But no one seemed to be able to see that.

When Minato walked past the Hatake house sometimes, he would see all those horrible writings on the wall about Sakumo, and then he would see broken windows and such. It pained him to see some of the villagers behave in such a clearly childish manner.

'_They don't even know that they're in the wrong,_' Minato thought sadly.

"Well, the mind chooses what it wishes to see, that is such the act of Scotoma," he muttered to himself. "Minato-nii!! Are you coming or not?" Kagome had shouted from the living room. Minato snapped out his pondering and he replied "Yes yes I'm coming Kagome! No need to worry!"

Kagome was waiting by the door when Minato left his room. She was smiling at him. "So are we going there by walking or by your Jutsu?" she asked him.

"By walking. I haven't marked Kakashi-kun's house yet. But I plan to later, for emergency purposes," Minato replied easily. Kagome nodded at that. She opened the front door and walked out. Minato followed after her and he made sure to close and lock the door. The two siblings walked down the stairs and into the streets. Kagome breathed in the fresh air and her eyes travelled towards the direction of the Hokage Mountain. The sun was setting and you could see it peaking from behind the Hokage Monument.

It really was a beauty to behold.

Minato gently took Kagome's hand and her small fingers interlocked with his. "Come on Kagome. This way," he told her as he led her down the darkening streets. Kagome had no idea where the Hatake house was, so she obediently followed after Minato. After a few minutes of walking down the silent streets, Minato turned a sharp left at the corner of the streets. The two siblings stopped in front of a house and Kagome gasped softly.

"How awful," she whispered.

* * *

Thank you Giss, Reads-way-2-much, Ichigo Mirai, Lily887787, 4get me not, Lovelywitch, Music ADD, Kage Hasu, BlondeKell, Rinda-chan, MikosWish, kakashixangela, Kuro-no-Tsubasa, Funabisenu, zoey tamagachi, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, utoi, Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami, Haru Inuzuka, yue no rei, Bloodia LoveStar1416 and -Yuna's Reincarnation-1 for reviewing!!!

Oh my freaking god everybody I am so sorry!! I know that I have not updated in a month and I seriously apologize for it!! But school has just started and everything is a little hectic for me right now, especially since Chinese New Year was not too long ago!

And I happen to take 7 subjects this year. My 'O' levels is next year but I need to study!

I don't really know when I will be able to update next but I promise I'll post up the next chapter as soon as I'm done with it! And Yahoo! 236 reviews, 10 795 hits, 17 C2s, 109 favourites and 163 alerts!! That's a seriously big and new record for me! Thank you guys so much for supporting this story!

Well, all you readers wanted Kagome to meet Kakashi again, and I was wracking my brains just to think how she would meet him again when this idea popped into my head. I thought that it was an amusing way to meet someone again, and I plan for Kagome to slowly befriend Kakashi; break his barrier a little, you guys know what I mean. So what can possibly happen to her when she meets him again?

So Minato and Kagome have arrived in front of the Hatake house. But what adventure awaits them inside? Find out in the next chapter of 'Tale of a Miko Kunoichi' chapter 10: The Hatake House!

Please review!


	11. The Hatake Household

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 10: The Hatake Household

Minato and Kagome had arrived in front of a run down looking manor. From what Kagome could tell, the manor must have once been very grand looking; with perfectly cut lawns, sparkling clean rooms and floors with hallways bustling with servants running around.

But now…the manor looked abandoned and deserted, the garden seriously needed to be tended to and the manor had lost its glamour.

Kagome almost reeled back in horror when she saw that the windows were broken and there were also horrible writings on the wall. Minato's grip on her hand tightened and Kagome flinched from the pain, but she kept silent. She could see that her brother's blue eyes were cold and serious now; so this was not a good time to make him feel bad for hurting her.

"Let's go Kagome," Minato said as he took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Then the two siblings made their way past the lawn and to the front door. But to Kagome's surprise, Minato made no movement to tell that he was going to ring the doorbell or even knock. Instead, he just stood in front of the door patiently.

"Err, Minato-nii, shouldn't we knock the door?" Kagome asked him curiously.

Minato smiled lightly and Kagome knew that he had already calmed down. "Kagome, Sakumo-sama is a high levelled Ninja. He should have already sensed that we are at his door, so there is no need for me to knock. Ah, here he comes now," Minato said calmly, the calm smile still on his face.

True to his word, Kagome could hear some shuffling from behind the door. And she could sense an aura approach the door.

The door slid open slightly so there was a small crack in between. Kagome could make out a person with spiky silver hair standing behind the door, and it hit her will a dull thud that the person, Sakumo-sama, greatly resembled the strange silver haired boy that she had met.

"W-who is it? What do you want with me?" Sakumo said in a voice that sounded rough from disuse.

Minato frowned slightly at first, but then his frown changed into a smile and he bowed his head politely. "Sakumo-sama, we meet again," he said in a gentle voice "I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm Jiraiya's student. Did Kakashi inform you that I was coming over for dinner? I would like to discuss some things with you about him."

Sakumo seemed lost in his own world for a moment as he studied Minato. And after a minute of silence, his onyx eyes lit up in recognition. "Ah, Minato is that you…? It's so good to see you again. My you've grown…Ah how is Jiraiya? Is he doing well? Is he still peeping at naked ladies in the Hot Springs for research? I remember when we were younger he would always drag me along and I couldn't refuse. And that was how I met my wife…" he mused distractedly, now speaking in a mumbled voice.

Minato's blue eyes flashed concern and he interrupted "Sakumo-sama…?"

The silver haired man snapped out of his daze and he smiled sheepishly at them from behind the door. "Oh right. I'm sorry. Would you like to come in?" Minato smiled and nodded. Sakumo opened the door fully and stepped aside. Minato went in and he motioned for Kagome to follow after him.

As Kagome walked through the door, she could feel Sakumo's gaze on her.

"And who is this?" Sakumo asked Minato as he peered down at her. Sakumo towered over Kagome with his height and yet she did not look undaunted. In fact, Kagome smiled at him and bowed her head slightly. "My name is Namikaze Kagome. It's nice to meet you sir. Minato-nii told me so much about you and I thought it was really honourable of you to save the lives of your friends. Who cares what the other people think, I believe that you're a true hero," she said truthfully.

Sakumo looked both shocked and surprised at first, but then after a while he smiled. "Thank you. No else has ever said that to me, with the exception of Jiraiya," and his smile grew softer at the thought of his silver haired friend. "Namikaze eh? I thought Minato you were the last of your clan?" he muttered and he looked at Minato for an explanation.

The blonde smiled sheepishly and shrugged "It's a long explanation. I'll tell you later Sakumo-sama. By the way, where is Kakashi-kun?" asked Minato.

Sakumo knitted his eyebrows as he appeared to struggle to remember "Kakashi? Kakashi, Kakashi," he kept on muttering over and over again. After a while, it seemed like an imaginary light bulb had lit up above his head. "Oh yes, I remember. Kakashi said something about going to the training grounds to train for a while. He should be back soon."

Then Sakumo turned around and walked down the dimly lit hallways.

"Please, come inside the living room for some tea while we wait for him," he said graciously. Minato took Kagome's hand and the two of them stepped into the house. Inside of the Hatake house, the hallways were rather dark. It was quite difficult to see; so Kagome had to reply on her other senses to find her way around. Sakumo slid open the door and motioned for them to enter. Kagome sat on the Tatami mat on one side while Minato sat across her, and Sakumo poured them some tea.

Then Sakumo placed the tea in front of them and the tea was tipped at a dangerous level that it threatened to spill across the table, but Minato managed to catch it in time. "Whoops, thanks Minato," Sakumo said in a grateful tone and he sat beside the blonde Ninja.

Minato smiled weakly and tried to act like nothing was wrong, but the truth was something was wrong; Sakumo was acting really strange.

Minato knew that he should tell Jiraiya about Sakumo's behaviour; he was really not acting like himself. Sakumo seemed more dazed and detached. Although you could still see the kindness in his eyes, there was also another look. Sakumo looked…broken.

He was a broken man; from that mission no doubt, Minato thought sadly.

Kagome took a sip of her piping hot tea and she let out a deep sigh. Nothing tasted better than hot green tea. Minato and Sakumo were conversing with each other now, so Kagome didn't want to interrupt them. She stayed silent and her eyes wandered around the room, taking in every bit of detail.

Her eyes landed on a photo that was sitting innocently on a table not far from where she was sitting.

The photo looked ordinary to most people, but to Kagome it did not. There were two people in the photo. One man and a young boy; and both of them had that shocking silver hair. Kagome immediately recognized the man to be Sakumo, and he looked so happy in the photo, compared to how he was now. Sakumo was smiling lightly as he ruffled the hair of the younger boy. If Kagome didn't know any better, she would have thought that the young boy was Sakumo's clone.

They looked very much alike. In a way, the resemblance between Sakumo and that boy reminded Kagome of her resemblance of her and Kikyo. Only Kikyo and Kagome weren't related.

But Kagome could guess that the boy was his son, Kakashi. Who else would be in the photo if it wasn't his son? Kagome blushed lightly as she continued to look at the picture. Kakashi was…handsome for a boy his age; Kagome could give him that much credit. His spiky silver hair was an exact replica of his father's, and they even had the same crease in their eyes when they smiled. Kagome shook her head to dispel those thoughts.

Anyway, from her opinion, Kakashi also looked happy. He had this look in his eyes that seemed to sparkle as he laughed and smiled at the camera. Kagome knew that look. Kakashi had a look of pure adoration and respect for his father.

He must have loved his father so much, but Kagome didn't know whether his love would change for the elder Hatake after that mission.

Kagome continued to stare at the picture, and she felt a strange feeling of nostalgia overwhelm her. Kagome seemed to know Kakashi from somewhere, but she didn't know exactly where. Kagome believed that she never met him before. I mean, the only other boy she met with strange silver hair was at the training grounds but…

Kagome froze and she looked at Minato and Sakumo, who were still talking.

She waited until Minato finished talking, only then did she interrupt. She meekly stretched out her hand and tugged on Minato's outfit. When he did not respond, Kagome continued to tug until he felt something. Minato looked at her, his eyebrow raised in confusion and Kagome began quietly "Ne, Minato-nii, does Kakashi wear a black mask by any chance?"

Minato opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut short when there was a 'poof' sound coming from outside the room. Minato, Sakumo and Kagome looked at the door and Sakumo smiled "Ah, that must be Kakashi…" he mumbled to himself. Then he raised his voice and called out "Kakashi, your sensei is here. He told me that he told you that he was coming over for dinner to discuss some things with me about you. Did you tell me?"

The door slid open and in stepped Kakashi.

"Chichi-ue, tadaima," he said in a bored tone and even his expression looked lazy. "And yes I did tell you Chichi-ue but you must have forgotten it," he replied, looking at his father. Then he shifted his attention to Minato. "Hello sensei," he said in a dull tone.

Minato waved cheerfully and he greeted "Good evening Kakashi-kun."

Kagome felt her heart rate quickening. Her back was facing the door, so she couldn't see how Kakashi looked like now. But…he really sounded like that boy that had insulted her. Kagome gulped and she turned around when Minato had said "Ah Kakashi-kun, I want you to meet my little sister Kagome."

Her eyes locked on to Kakashi, and she couldn't help but scream "You!" and she even pointed at him in horror.

Kakashi really was the boy that she had met at the training ground, and even though Kagome had guessed that it was probably him from the start, she did not know why she even reacted like that. Maybe she still could not help but be surprised seeing him again. And Kagome still could not explain why her heart was pounding like a drum.

Kakashi eyed her lazily and he blinked "You," he said in a dull tone that did not show any enthusiasm.

Minato and Sakumo blinked, looking at each other for a moment before looking back to the two children. "Oro? You two know each other Kagome, Kakashi-kun?" Minato asked carefully, eyeing his sister and his student in confusion. Why didn't Kagome tell him anything about her knowing Kakashi?

Sakumo did not make any sound; he was silent as he observed the scene play out before him, a thoughtful look on his face.

Eto…we've met before Minato-nii," Kagome said slowly, trying her best to act normal and not look at Kakashi. She was nervous and embarrassed at meeting him again, but she tries to stay as calm as possible. She could feel heat rising from her cheeks and she knew she was blushing. Why was she blushing now of all times?!

Kakashi examined her blushing face lazily and replied "We've met," but he did not tell Minato exactly how they met.

Minato narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the two of them with a serious expression. But after a while, his serious expression disappeared and he smiled kindly. "Ah, that means I don't have to introduce each other. Kakashi-kun, why don't you and Kagome chat for a little while? Sakumo-sama and I will be back real soon and try not to do anything dangerous," he sang cheerfully.

Kagome blinked "You and Sakumo-sama are going somewhere?"

Minato shrugged "Yeah, since it's apparent that there is no dinner prepared, I'm going out with Sakumo-sama to buy dinner for all of us. And that way, I can speak privately with him. Heck, I might even call Jiraiya-sensei to join us while we're out there. So be good you two!" And Minato leaned down and gave Kagome a small peck on her cheek. "Kakashi, I'm counting on you to be the man of the house while I'm gone. And be nice to Kagome. Is that fine?" Sakumo asked.

Kakashi nodded and replied "I understand Father." Kakashi seriously reminded Kagome of a Ninja who was accepting a mission from the Hokage. Sakumo looked like he had something else to say to his son, but he was cut off when Minato grabbed his arm and they both disappeared in a flash.

Actually, just now when Minato said they were going out, Kagome had wanted to interrupt.

She had wanted to ask Minato to take her along, because she didn't want to be left alone with Kakashi. But she didn't want to be rude, and she also didn't have the chance. She knew Minato would have wanted her to stay with Kakashi and keep him company, and well Kagome didn't want to let Minato down. So after Minato and Sakumo had gone, there was an eerie silence that was just unnerving. Kagome couldn't stand the silence after a while and she slowly turned to Kakashi.

"Hi," she said weakly and nervously.

It took Kakashi a moment to respond, and when he did, all he said was "So you're the Great Konoha Yellow Flash's little sister huh?" And he said it in a tone that was quite unimpressed. Kagome wanted to turn angry at his aloof behaviour before but she found that she couldn't. Not after hearing about Kakashi and Sakumo's story from Minato. She could see now that he was lonely. And like Minato had said, it was clear that Kakashi needed a friend close to his age. And Kagome fit the job, otherwise why would Minato bring her here?

So she sighed deeply "I'm sorry about the last time. I don't know why I said those things. I guess I just wasn't myself," she apologized.

"Since you apologized, I'll apologize as well. I am also sorry for saying those things to you," Kakashi replied stiffly. Kagome shrugged "No, you were right. When we were having throwing practice at the academy, I used that stance again and the teachers told me to change it. Only thing was that they used kinder words."

Kakashi nodded nonchalantly and Kagome bit her lip, unsure of what to say.

"Ano…Kakashi-kun?" she called his name nervously. Kakashi raised his eyebrows and stared at her, as if asking her to get on with her question. Kagome swallowed and opened her mouth, trying to speak, but no sound came out.

Kagome ground her teeth in silent frustration.

Why was she always so nervous every time she tried to talk to him? Kagome may be intelligent and advanced for her age, but she couldn't see the answer to that question. What was it about Kakashi that made her behave like this? What was it about him that made her voice get stuck in her throat and made her heart pound like a drum?

Kakashi had no patience to listen to her stutter out her question and without another word he exited the room. "Where are you going?" Kagome asked, finally finding her voice again.

"Going outside to train," was his emotionless reply. "Can I come?" she asked him. Kakashi was already halfway out the door, and he paused for a while. He did not face Kagome to answer her, but he nodded. Kagome got up from her seat and followed after him.

They exited the room at different times, and Kagome followed Kakashi out to the backyard.

Kakashi turned on the lights for the backyard and Kagome found herself staring. The condition of the backyard was just as bad as the condition of the front yard. The grass seriously needed a trim, but Kakashi didn't seem to mind. Instead, he just strolled down on the grass and took out some Kunai. Then, he positioned himself and threw the Kunai. The kunai flew through the air and hit the dead center of a target drawn on one of the trees. Kakashi repeated this process, but he kept moving farther and farther away from the target.

Once he ran out of Kunai, he made his way towards the tree and retrieved his Kunai. Kagome stared at him and she found herself clapping quietly. The sounds of her clapping made Kakashi froze and he looked at her, and Kagome noticed confusion flashing in his eyes.

Why did she clap for him?

Most people, adults and children alike, all did not want to associate themselves with him. They even didn't want him to become a Ninja after what his father had done. Kakashi had been shunned by everyone and no one praised him. They only insulted him now. So why was she clapping?

"That was amazing. I can see why Minato-nii called you a prodigy," she said with a smile.

Kakashi nodded stiffly, unsure of what to say. But he still managed to force his lips to say "Thank you." Kagome made her way towards him and she took a deep breath, trying to phrase the question she wanted to ask him in her head. "K-Kakashi-kun, can I ask you something?" she began nervously. Kakashi stared at her again, waiting for her to ask.

But his stare made her uncomfortable. Wait, Kagome was being silly.

What was so terrifying about her asking him whether she could be his friend? Indeed, what was so scary about that? Almost everybody else could do it, especially Minato. So what was Kagome acting so nervous about? With a new confidence in her, Kagome smiled and she opened her mouth, ready to ask. But then she and Kakashi were interrupted when the lights of the backyard went out. Then Kagome and Kakashi heard something flying through the air and Kakashi instantly turned around, catching something in his hand.

Kakashi opened his palm to reveal a rock.

Suddenly, more rocks went flying through the air and headed straight for them. Kakashi couldn't possibly catch so many rocks all at once and so did Kagome even though catching flying objects were a piece of cake to them. So some rocks broke through their defences and ended up hitting him and Kagome.

Kagome yelped in pain as a rock struck her on her head and Kagome felt herself fall to the ground. Her head was pounding in pain and she couldn't move much.

Kakashi cursed silently and the next thing Kagome knew, he had thrown himself on top of her on the ground to shield her from the rocks. Kagome could hear Kakashi grunting in pain and when his head landed on her chest she knew he was unconscious and her body had instinctively taken over. She wrapped her arms around his waist and used all her strength to flip them over. So now it was Kagome lying on top of Kakashi. She could feel the rocks hitting her back and she ground her teeth to prevent her from crying out in pain.

She buried her head in Kakashi's soft hair and she could feel the tears coming to her eyes. Then suddenly the barrage of rocks stopped and she heard some unpleasant laughter. "Oi, look what we have here Hashi. Seems like that Hatake brat has found himself a girlfriend."

"Yeah, too bad she was at the wrong place at the wrong time Takagi," said another.

There was more evil laughter and Kagome could hear several figures jumping over the fence. And she could sense a group of about 5 making their way towards her and Kakashi. They were not Ninja, since Kagome couldn't sense any chakra signals from them. If those people that attacked Kagome and Kakashi were Ninja, then she could have put up a barrier and they wouldn't be able to cross. But they weren't Ninja, so they could pass through the barriers without getting a scratch.

Kagome slowly sat up and she used noticed a Kunai lying not too far from where she was. She grabbed the Kunai and slowly stood up. Then she took a defensive stance, indicating that she would not allow them to go past her to Kakashi. Her eyes locked on to the 5 guys and she could see that they were all no older than 15.

Kakashi groaned in pain behind Kagome and this only made the guys grin wider.

"Stay back," she warned them, but they all didn't take her seriously and continued to make their way towards her. A five year old girl that was a lot shorter than them didn't look very intimidating. Kagome gripped the Kunai tighter and she was prepared to defend herself and Kakashi, if necessary. But her head was killing her; the rock had hit her skull so hard that now her head was bleeding.

She could feel the warm blood trickling down her face, neck and back but she ignored it.

Soon, those 5 boys were about a metre away from her and they stopped in their tracks. "Face it kid, you're no match for us," one of the boys had said. His brown hair was a buzz cut and his eyes were squinted like a pig's. The other boys nodded in turn.

"Why did you attack us?" Kagome asked them.

"As if a kid like you could understand," another guy replied. He had black hair that reached until his shoulders and his nose was pointed like a witch's. Kagome raised a brow and she said "Want to bet?" She absolutely hated it when people underestimated her abilities just because she was a kid.

"Fine, we wanted to teach that kid a lesson. They say it's because of his father abandoning that mission which caused the war to start. And because of the war, we've lost some of our friends and family who died defending the border. We hate the Hatake clan. We hate them so goddamn much!" said the first guy who had spoken. Kagome felt the anger and hate in each and every one of those guys and she found herself sympathising with those boys.

Al least they had only lost some of their precious people. Kagome had lost everyone in her clan.

As the guys tried to approach again, Kagome tensed up. How could she get them to leave? Maybe she could scare them away. Or she could injure them and let them flee on their own. Yeah, they both seemed like good ideas. But before she could attack them, several Kunai came flying past Kagome and at the 5 guys and hit them at various parts of their bodies, but missing all their vital organs. Kagome found a small smile making its way on her lips.

It seems that Kakashi had woken up. And by the looks of those injuries on the 5 guys, Kakashi wasn't happy.

The 5 boys looked at their wounds then to Kakashi in horror, before they all ran back towards the fence and climbed over. Then they ran off, howling in pain all the way. Kagome shook her head at those boys before she turned around to face Kakashi.

He was looking at her intensely with his dark orbs that Kagome found a small blush forming on her cheeks.

She looked away from his eyes, an embarrassed smile on her face, but then she frowned when she saw the state he was in. Like her, his head was also bleeding, and some purplish bruises were already starting to form on his skin.

"Come on, let's get you inside and let me look at those wounds of yours," Kagome informed him.

Kakashi nodded and as he proceeded to walk towards the house, he stumbled a bit. Kagome ran to him, forgetting the pain in her head. She made his hand wrap around her shoulder. Then her hand snaked around his waist and she pulled him closer. She ignored the blush that was forming on her face again and she refused to look up to meet his eyes. But little did she know that Kakashi was blushing as well. He had never gotten this close to another girl before.

And together, they made their way towards the house.

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Thank you BlondeKell, medical motoko mcdowell, Lovelywitch, Lily887787, Giss, JustWriter2, Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami, darkangel0212, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, LeClas, Reads-way-2-much, Music ADD, craziness101, Ichigo Mirai, LeafeKnight7, zoey tamagachi, ayashi77, Ariz0na-Sky, kakashixangela, utoi, yue no rei, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Pure Iciness, Rinda-chan, SesshoumaruKougaNarakuFanGirl, hermonine, midnight kagome, Crescent Silver Moon, -Yuna's Reincarnation-1, Shikon Kucoichi-Shikon Crystal, iheartanime43, Hells Twilight, FairyTails13, XXmistressdeathXX and MikosWish for reviewing!!

From the looks of it, I can update about once every month, or maybe even shorter. It depends on the time I have. And right now it's the middle of my Commom Test 1.

I bet all of you wasn't expecting what happened at the last part right? About them being attacked? Actually, I had written to where Sakumo said goodbye to Kakashi. Then I spent the whole of today writing finish this chapter after receiving a PM from one author urging me to update.

And so I have!

In the next chapter, Kagome treats Kakashi's wounds! And I wonder what will happen when a certain someone learns about what happened to Kakashi and Kagome. Take cover!! We're going to have two very pissed Jounin levelled Ninja in the house!! Yikes, it sucks to be those guys right now.

Please review!


	12. An Unlikely Friendship

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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Chapter 11: An Unlikely Friendship

Kagome and Kakashi entered through the kitchen door, and Kagome looked to Kakashi. "Where do you want to go?" she asked him.

"We'll just stay in the kitchen for now. I don't think that Chichi-ue will be pleased to see our Tatami mats soaked with blood," Kakashi replied dryly. Kagome nodded and she helped him get to where the kitchen table was situated at. Kakashi propped himself up on the chair and he watched curiously as Kagome turned away. She started looking around the kitchen, opening the cupboards and such.

Kakashi, being the genius that he was; seemed to be able to guess what she was looking for. "If you're looking for the medical kit, it's in the cupboard under the sink. And I think there are some clean cloths in the dryer. Take whatever you need," he told her with a wince as blood from his head injury trickled into his eyes.

Kagome nodded and she made her way to the sink. She opened the cupboard and like he said, there was the medical kit.

She then went over to the dryer, took out some clean cloths and went back to the table. Kagome placed the items on the table and she made a checklist of what she had. When she saw that she had everything she needed, she smiled and turned back to Kakashi.

"Take off your shirt and tell me where your injuries are, okay?" she asked him nicely.

"Shouldn't you treat your injuries first?" he replied. Kagome shook her head "Nope, my injuries can wait. It's pretty obvious that your injuries are more serious than mine. So not another word and do as you're told," Kagome informed him. Kakashi sighed deeply and he removed his shirt without another word.

"Are you happy now?" he asked her dryly.

"Your mask goes off too," Kagome replied just as dryly and tugged on it. "Otherwise I can't really help you much if I can't see where your injuries are." Kakashi sighed deeply before he took off his mask, grumbling under his breath and Kagome's heartbeat increased dramatically as she looked at his face.

He looked……there was no other word to describe it…cute.

His lips were pouty in a way that were similar to Minato's, and his lazy expression made him look all the more adorable. Kagome was sure that Kakashi was going to be an extremely handsome man when he grew up.

"What?" Kakashi asked her irritably.

It was then Kagome realized that she had been staring at him. She averted her eyes and mumbled "Nothing…" a light blush on her cheeks. Then she opened the medical kit and took out a bottle of alcohol and some cotton pad. She even found a pair of tweezers in the kit. Kagome uncorked the bottle of alcohol and she gently dabbed some of it onto the cotton pad. She used the tweezers to pick the cotton pad up and she hesitated for a moment.

"This is probably going to hurt a lot Kakashi-kun. So I suggest you bite on to something," she said softly, and hoped he would listen to her.

But Kakashi only rolled his eyes. "I think I can handle the pain. I did not become a Chunin for nothing you know," he replied curtly. Kagome sighed and she ever so gently dabbed the cotton pad onto Kakashi's injuries. She had to rid his wounds of bacteria first before she could heal him, otherwise the bacteria would still remain in his bloodstream and he might still get an infection.

And she almost squeaked in surprise when Kakashi gave an intense hiss of pain.

She had told him the pain was going to be intense, but did he listen? _No_… With a frown, Kagome continued to dab his wounds silently, trying to ignore Kakashi's hisses. Kakashi closed his eyes and evened out his breathing, trying to ignore the pain, which was easier said than done. His sharp nose was sensitive to the smell of the alcohol and it even stung his wounds.

That was very distracting, in Kakashi's opinion.

But he lasted till the end and he heaved a silent sigh of relief when Kagome was done cleaning his wounds. Then she threw away the cotton pad and Kakashi was puzzled when she did not use bandages. Instead, Kagome placed both of her hands with their palms faced at his wounds. Then she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Kakashi was about to ask what was she doing when a pink energy was emitted from her palms. Kakashi managed to hold back his tongue and he watched in amazement as the pink energy entered his injuries.

Very soon, he saw his wounds slowly closing up.

"How do you know medical Jutsu?" Kakashi couldn't help but ask her when she was healing the injury on his head. "It's not medical Jutsu. I was a miko back at my shrine and I learned from the others there," Kagome said with a sad smile, remembering her training. When Kagome was done healing his head injury, she moved on to the cuts and bruises that marred his arms and chest. Kakashi had a pale skin tone, so the purple coloured bruises on his chest and arms looked a little gruesome.

Kagome traced her fingers gently over a particularly nasty looking bruise on his chest and she froze when she heard Kakashi's sharp intake of breath.

"What is it?" she asked him in a worried tone. "The pressure wasn't too great was it?" What Kagome meant was the pressure from her miko energy. A steady flow of miko energy could heal injuries, but a great amount of it could cause pain although it healed your injuries.

Kakashi shook his head. "No, I just think that I may have a broken rib there," he told her.

Kagome frowned and she traced her fingers carefully over his bruise again, and she hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm, you're right. It feels broken. Hang on; I have to make sure the rib is in place before I heal you. We wouldn't want it healing wrong."

She took out some bandages from the medical kit and she wrapped it tight around Kakashi's chest. Then she started to heal him again, and Kagome still had that frown on her face as she took more time to study the extent of Kakashi's injuries. He was several times more injured than she was. Kagome suddenly felt a wave of gratitude rushing through her as she remembered what he did for her back then. He could have continued to defend himself, that way his injuries wouldn't have been this severe.

But he didn't. And instead when Kagome went down, he protected her. He protected her until he was knocked unconscious.

"Kakashi-kun?" Kagome called out. Kakashi looked at her to show that he was listening and Kagome continued "I wanted to thank you for just now. If it weren't for you, I would be the one who would have the serious injuries like the broken rib while your injuries would be minor."

Kakashi shrugged and replied "Nah, don't be. Those idiots were targeting me. So you were never meant to get hurt in the first place." Kagome still couldn't help but be grateful to him even though he told her not to. After Kagome finished healing Kakashi's injuries, she took the cloth from the bucket and she squeezed out the water. Then she began to wash the dried blood off Kakashi. He didn't seem to mind much, because he kept quiet.

After she was done, Kagome went on to heal her own injuries. And unlike Kakashi who did not shed a tear even though he was in great pain, Kagome shed a lot of tears as the alcohol stung. But Kakashi didn't berate her for it, no; he just turned the other way, giving her privacy.

Kagome was grateful to him for that.

And while Kagome was halfway healing through her wounds, Kakashi left the kitchen to change out of his bloodstained clothes. He brought back some clothes for Kagome to change into as well, although the clothes were meant for males, but Kagome didn't complain.

Instead, she just took the clothes and left the kitchen to change once she was done healing her wounds.

Kagome returned to the kitchen to see Kakashi sitting at the table, staring blankly into space. She smiled slightly and a thought appeared in her head. Well, she could ask him now. It was now or never. Kagome didn't know when she would get this close to Kakashi again, despite him being Minato's new student.

"Kakashi-kun," Kagome called out. Kakashi snapped out of his daze and he looked at her intently with his onyx eyes.

"I've been wanting to ask you this all evening. W-would you please let me be your friend?" she asked him timidly, her voice going an octave higher. Kakashi stared at her for once whole minute while Kagome could only fidget uncomfortably under his gaze.

Kakashi blinked and it took some time for her message to be fully processed by his advanced brain. What did she say?! She wanted to become his friend? But why! He was the son of the disgraced White Fang! His father caused many people in Konoha to suffer because he failed that mission! Kagome had almost gotten herself seriously hurt today for just being with him! So why did she still want to be his friend? Kakashi didn't understand. He really didn't understand.

"Why do you want to become my friend?" he asked her softly, allowing his emotions to dominate his voice for once.

"Because you cared," Kagome replied with a slight blush on her cheeks. Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he pondered on her vague answer. As if sensing his confusion, Kagome decided to elaborate more on her answer.

"I want to be your friend because you cared back there when I went down. You defended me and protected me until you were knocked unconscious when you could have just defended yourself and have less injuries. But you didn't," Kagome told him with a serene smile on her face. Kakashi opened his mouth to try and rebut her, but Kagome cut him off before he could even speak "And before that incident, back at the training grounds where we first met, in your own umm… weird way, you showed me that you cared," Kagome said with a nervous laugh as she remembered their first encounter.

Kakashi looked at her with a dull look on his face; he didn't believe that he showed her that he cared for her back at the training grounds.

He just wanted to give her a taste of her own medicine when she insulted him, and yet Kagome went and misinterpreted it, or so he thought. Actually Kagome knew that he was not really concerned about her back at the training grounds, but believing that he cared for her on two occasions instead of one was so much better.

And Kagome wanted to convince him to let her be his friend. After a few moments of silence, Kagome opened her mouth to speak again.

"Kakashi-kun, you're lonely, aren't you?" she asked him. Kakashi blinked in surprise but he did not make a sound. Instead, he stared quietly at her. "I know how it feels to be lonely," Kagome said wryly, and Kakashi snorted in disbelief.

She was lonely? He didn't see how she could be lonely when she was surrounded by all her friends and loved ones.

Kagome heard his snort and she seemed to know what he was thinking about. "I know it's hard to believe that I know about loneliness, that's true, but there was once a time when I was lonely. I even remember the pain that comes with the loneliness. There was always a certain emptiness and dull ache in my heart, and I felt very unhappy. For some time, I thought that the people around me were trash, but I didn't voice it out. I kept quiet about it," she informed him in a monotone voice.

Kakashi looked at her; his curiosity peaked by her speech.

"It's strange that I was lonely right? I had two parents who were alive, but I never felt…happy. Maybe it was because I knew deep down that the only reason why my mother cared for me was because of my powers, and that my father cared because he probably only did it out of a sense of responsibility. I knew father's heart belonged to another woman. But still, I tried to convince myself that it wasn't true because I really wanted to believe that they truly loved me."

You know something Kakashi-kun; I trained all day long because I wanted someone to pay attention to me. I wanted someone to turn around and look at me. I wanted to feel needed by someone. Someone who would listen to me, understand me, and accept me for who I was. I wanted to be loved by someone," and she suppressed a sniffle.

"I had really wanted my parents to love me back then, I had wanted their love. I was desperate for it so much that I trained hard and didn't complain one bit, doing exactly what I was told. My mother put me through vigorous training that my childhood was fast paced. I didn't even have the time to make any friends. It was just training, training, training, all day long. And because of it…I was just so lonely," Kagome paused and she launched herself onto Kakashi, dissoving into tears.

Kakashi was a genius for his age, that was true, but he didn't know how to comfort crying girls.

So he patted Kagome's back awkwardly in a soothing fashion, silently willing for her to stop crying soon. "Gah…I'm crying again…" Kagome mumbled in a slightly frustrated tone "I always cry when I get sad or lonely. Sorry," she apologized, her voice slightly muffled because she was pressed against his shoulder. Kakashi blinked as she sobbed on his shoulder. She cried when she was sad or lonely…?

After a few more minutes of sobbing on his shoulder, Kagome stopped crying and she let go of Kakashi, taking a few steps back. "Thanks Kakashi-kun, I feel so much better getting that off my chest," she told him.

Kakashi smiled awkwardly and he replied "No problem."

"Oh…" Kagome mumbled as she seemed to realize something. "Shh…" she said as she placed a finger over her sad smile, looking at Kakashi "Please don't tell Minato-nii that I told you all this. I don't want to upset him. It'll be our little secret, ne?" she asked him, trying to smile happily, even though tears were still running down her cheeks.

Kakashi nodded, unsure of how to reply her.

"Kakashi-kun, you don't have to worry about what I told you now. That was all in the past. I'm so much happier ever since I came to Konoha. My old life seemed like a distant dream now. Minato-nii has taught me so many things and he's made me very happy, the happiest I could ever be in my life. He reached out to me when I was in despair, and he shined down on my life like the sun. That's why I really, really love him," Kagome summarised with a dreamy look on her face.

But she blushed when she realized when she has been drabbling to him. "Since Minato-nii reached out to me, I want to reach out to you Kakashi-kun. I don't want you to be lonely or unhappy anymore. I want to be your friend. So will you let me?" Kagome finished with an uncertain smile.

"All right," Kakashi replied slowly.

Kakashi wasn't aware why he agreed for her to his friend in the first place. He swore never to let anybody in his façade because of how they usually treated him, and yet he still agreed to be her friend. He couldn't explain it, but he felt some sort of connection established between the two of them after she told him more about her past. He could sympathise with her, he knew what type of pain and what type of loneliness she was going through; he was going through it himself.

"Thank you," she told him gratefully. Kagome had a soft smile on her face and she leaned in, giving Kakashi a small peck on his cheek. Kakashi's face turned a deep crimson as he looked at her. "W-what did you do that for?" he asked her in a surprised tone. Did she even know what a kiss meant?

Given her intelligence for her age, she should. So why did she kiss him?

"Minato-nii said that kisses make everything better," she told him simply and he continued to blink at her in disbelief. "And I only kissed you on your cheek, not your lips. So it isn't a real kiss. But it made the pain go away right?" she asked him hopefully. Kakashi didn't know how to reply to this question, so he just nodded numbly. The truth was; he did feel slightly better after she kissed him. But he wouldn't tell her that. Nope, she would never find out.

From him at least…

"Ano, Kakashi-kun," her voice brought him out of his thoughts. Kakashi looked at her with a lazy expression that would have been pretty adorable because of his face, minus the bandages and the fading but still lightly coloured purple bruises.

"I just realized something," she said, eyeing him carefully.

"Hmm?" that was his way of telling her to continue. "Exactly what are we going to tell Minato-nii and Sakumo-sama about umm…?" Kagome asked him, and she motioned to the state that the both of them were in. Kakashi took a look at their bloodstained clothes that they had changed out of and then he analysed his and Kagome's fading injuries from that battle.

"Well shit," he said rather bluntly "Minato-sensei and Chichi-ue are going to have a fit."

Kagome nodded grimly. "I know. If Minato-nii sees us like this, he's going to get very angry and or very upset. And he looks very scary when he's angry; like a cold raging demon. But Minato-nii might also get guilty that he couldn't protect us. I don't like to see him like behaving like that," she told Kakashi.

He snorted "Then you probably haven't seen Chichi-ue angry before. All hell would break loose."

Kagome shook her head sadly "I feel sorry for those boys. As if they haven't gotten enough from the injuries you gave them." Kakashi nodded absent-mindedly beside her. "If you say that Minato-sensei is like a raging demon when he's angry and I say that Chichi-ue can make all hell break loose with his anger… hmm… the famed Konoha Yellow Flash and the Legendary White Fang both pissed off and probably angry beyond reason …well then…they really are screwed."

"Would you mind your language Kakashi-kun? You swear as much as Kushina-san," Kagome said with a roll of her blue eyes.

"Ah, that red haired tomboy back at the training ground right?" he asked and Kagome nodded. "Kushina-san is like twice your age too you know. If you want to swear, al least swear when you're older or something. I have a rough idea that Minato-nii might wash your mouth with soap with every swear word you say," she told him, and she giggled slightly when she imagined Minato shoving a bar of soap into Kakashi's mouth and Kakashi gurgling and spitting the soap out.

That certainly would be amusing.

Kakashi shrugged and replied "Whatever," then his eyes landed on the clock. "Where the heck are Minato-sensei and Chichi-ue? They've been gone for over an hour. It can't take that long to buy dinner can it?" And as if Kakashi had said the magic word, Minato's and Sakumo's chakra signals appeared in the house outside of the kitchen.

"Oh Kakashi-kun!! Kagome-chan!! We've brought back dinner!! Come and get it!!" Minato said in a singsong voice.

Kakashi's and Kagome's eyes widened slightly and they flicked a glance at each other, each thinking the same thing. '_Oh shit…_' Minato and Sakumo entered the kitchen, and Minato stopped in his tracks when his eyes landed on Kakashi and Kagome. Sakumo ended up bumping into Minato because he didn't notice anything but when the scent of blood, _Kakashi's_ and Kagome's blood hit his sensitive nose, he snapped awake from his depression.

He joined Minato as they took in the state of the two children.

Kagome wasn't wearing her sundress anymore, she was wearing what looked to be boy's clothes; Kakashi's clothes. Her hair was slightly messy and Minato's soft blue eyes turned hard and narrowed when he noticed the fading purple bruises on Kagome's arms and legs. There were even some bruises on her face and Minato's skin turned deathly white when he saw noticed that Kagome had bandaged her head. And his heart almost stopped when he saw Kagome's sundress lying innocently in the corner; her bloodstained sundress.

Minato angrily tore his eyes away from Kagome and he looked at Kakashi.

Kakashi also had multiple fading bruises on his arms, face and leg similar to Kagome. And his head was also bandaged but Minato could tell his student's injuries were more serious than his sister's because he noticed Kakashi's bandaged chest. There was no blood seeping through the bandage so Minato guessed that Kakashi had had a broken rib or two.

Minato opened his mouth, wanting to speak, to demand an explanation why the two of them were so injured, but Sakumo spoke before him.

"Kakashi, what happened? Who did this to you?" Sakumo asked his son in a dangerously low tone. And Minato could hear the seriousness in Sakumo's tone of voice. Heck, Minato could even sense the massive killing intent that Sakumo gave out. So to say the White Fang was angry was an understatement.

He was positively _pissed_.

* * *

Thank you ayashi77, sexy-jess, FairyTails13, Music ADD, 30sec2kiba, zoey tamagachi, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, Reads-way-2-much, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Flame Chaos and Wolf, Nasuki- formally Orihime Girl, Anime Punk Kitty, iheartanime43, Giss, Ariz0na-Sky, leopygirl, utoi, Shikon Kunoichi-Shikon Crystal, LeafeKnight7, Kage Hasu, JustWriter2, kakashixangela, Aoko Rosetta, BlondeKell, yue no rei, Saturnblue, PiratekitAG, WhiteDemoness11, -Yuna's Reincarnation-1, Rinda-chan, Pure Iciness, Lovelywitch, craziness101, lil-lostii, Ichigo Mirai, Angel Girl5, eloquent dreams, Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami, ihaveprobs, hermonine, Chibisemo, Bradley McCloud, chibi-dono15, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan and invisible-gurl for reviewing!

Oh my god I have never received so many reviews for one chapter before!! Everyone has made me so happy!!

I revealed more of Kagome's past, but I know that I'm a bitch because I made it so sad. But loneliness was the only thing that could connect her to Kakashi, at least in my opinion. But because of her sad past in this chapter, Kakashi will say something to Kagome that I think you might find really sweet in the future.

But he won't say it to her for another 10 maybe 11 more years once he's worked out his feelings. So you all are going to just have to wait until then!

Please review!


	13. Anger

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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Chapter 12: Anger

Minato swallowed thickly as he looked at Sakumo's angry expression.

In all of his life he had never seen the White Fang this angry before. Actually Minato had never seen Sakumo angry at all; because Sakumo was not one to anger easily. So let's just say the White Fang's anger was something entirely new to him. But Minato did not forget his own anger and he silently thanked the heavens that it was not him that Sakumo was mad at. So he settled on crossing his arms and looking intently at his sister and his student.

"Kagome," Minato said in a controlled voice "Tell me what happened and who did this to you?"

"I uh…" Kagome stuttered out "Kakashi-kun and I were in the backyard and I was watching him practice. It was dark so he turned on the backyard lights. When he ran out of weapons he went to the target to retrieve them and I started talking with him. After that the power got cut off and Kakashi-kun caught a rock thrown at him. Then more rocks were thrown at us and we couldn't reflect all of them. One of the rocks hit me on the head and I fell down. But Kakashi-kun ignored his safety and he used his own body as a shield to protect me," Kagome said with a blush.

Damn, just thinking about Kakashi's protecting her back there still made her blush!

"Then what happened after that?" Minato asked impatiently. He already felt the anger bubbling inside of him. Oh he believed that he was just as angry as Sakumo… And the people who injured his sister and his student like that, yes, they were going to pay…

Minato was going to hunt them down, torture, beat them until they were beyond recognition and lastly he was going to kill them.

"The rocks hit Kakashi-kun until he got knocked unconscious and then the barrage of rocks stopped. Then 5 boys crossed over the fence and they still wanted to beat Kakashi-kun up some more. I stood up and wanted to protect Kakashi-kun like he protected me but he woke up in time. He threw some weapons at those boys and injured them, but he didn't hit any vital organs or anything. They're injuries weren't serious and they ran off, screaming in pain," she stopped to take a breath.

"I helped Kakashi-kun get into the house and I disinfected his wounds. Then I healed him with my miko powers and I did the same thing for me. Kakashi-kun gave me some clean clothes to change into and after that we talked some more. Then you and Sakumo-sama came home. That's about it Minato-nii," Kagome finished with a toothy grin.

Minato blinked.

Why was she smiling at him like that? Kagome and Kakashi had just been beaten up by some unknown people, and Minato still wanted to spill their bloods for touching his sister, and she had gotten some serious injuries from her beating. And yet why was she still smiling?

No matter, Minato didn't have time to think about it now.

"Kakashi-kun," he called out to his student "Is what Kagome said true?" he asked. Kakashi nodded slowly and both Sakumo and Minato growled in anger. "Do you know who the boys that attacked you two were? Kagome, Kakashi?" he asked the two of them carefully. Kagome shook her head but Kakashi nodded. "They were civilians; Takagi Keiro, Hashi Shimei, Takatori Mamoru, Namikawa Isshin and Inoue Sousuke," he told everyone.

Minato's eyes hardened and Sakumo spoke up "Why did they attack you Kakashi?"

Kakashi froze for a split second and he hesitated on his answer. He couldn't ever tell his father! He couldn't ever tell Sakumo the real reason they attacked him! If Sakumo knew that the reason those boys attacked him was because of him…Kakashi shuddered to think about Sakumo's mental state after that.

"……Because……they were jealous of my skills," he finally said.

Kagome immediately knew that Kakashi was lying, but she kept silent. She could sense the conflict of emotions in his aura; the confusion, the hesitation, the doubt and the fear. So she believed that he must have had a good reason for lying. Sakumo and Minato also knew that the reason couldn't be so simple, but they didn't push Kakashi to tell them. They hoped that Kakashi would tell them himself with no goading whatsoever when he was ready.

Minato uncrossed his arms and he turned to Sakumo.

"Sakumo-sama, what do you think we should do now?" he asked him. Minato already knew what he was going to do; he was going to hunt down those boys and make them pay, but that would be stupid. Minato had to report this matter to the Hokage and not take this matter into his own hands.

Sakumo was also involved in this because of Kakashi so Minato had to seek another's opinion before they decided which the best choice was.

"Hmm," Sakumo hummed thoughtfully. Then he quickly assessed the situation in his mind before he replied Minato. "We should wait until tomorrow before we bring this up to the Hokage," was his reply. Seeing Minato's confused face, Sakumo decided to explain more on his answer. "It's been a long day for the kids and they should be tired by now. I think we should let them rest for now. And Kagome did say that Kakashi injured those boys, so I think we should give them a night to tend to their injuries, am I right?"

Minato took a look at the two children, and it was exactly like Sakumo had said; they were both tired out by the day's events.

Well it was natural for Kagome to be tired; after all, she had used a lot of her energy to heal hers and Kakashi's wounds. Minato's hard expression softened a bit when he saw Kagome to stifling a yawn and she even tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

'Kawaii!' he couldn't help but think.

Kakashi on the other hand tried to put on a tough front even though he was also tired. He was trying hard not to close his tired eyes but it was so very nice. A few seconds after Kakashi closed his eyes he would realize what he was doing and he would snap awake again. This process repeated several times.

And Minato's barrier broke down completely when he saw this cute behaviour coming from Kakashi.

"All right," Minato relented with a soft sigh. Damn…he was way too soft on kids. "We'll go to the Hokage tomorrow. But I'll inform him of the matter first, so we can't make sure that those boys don't run off in the middle of the night," he said with a cheeky smile.

Sakumo nodded and Minato was about to use his Hiraishin when he suddenly remembered that Kagome was still here.

When he turned to call her and tell her he was going to take her home first, he couldn't help but be and amused and crack a small smile when he found that she was fast asleep; actually she and Kakashi were both fast asleep. The tiredness had finally gotten to them and they had both fallen into a deep slumber. They were both so tired that they had not bothered to find someplace comfortable to sleep on; instead they had fallen asleep with their backs against the kitchen wall.

But the matter that amused Minato even more was that Kagome and Kakashi were leaning against each other for support while they slept.

They looked so cute and Minato wished that had a camera right now so that he could take a picture of them and frame it up. The thought of the picture being used as blackmail for Kakashi in the future hadn't even occurred to him at all.

Minato's heart was too pure for that.

"Look at that Sakumo-sama," he whispered softly so as not to wake the two of them. Then he pointed to the scene behind the White Fang. Sakumo turned around curiously and a gentle smile made it's way on his lips when he saw them.

"Amazing," he breathed "I've never seen Kakashi let down his guard in front of another person before."

Then he turned to Minato and looked at him with a serious expression in his eyes. "You should bring your sister and come around more often. I can see that you will both be good for Kakashi; especially your sister. I have never seen Kakashi warm up to any children his age this quickly. And I have certainly never seen or heard about him defending another person who was struck down when he could have just defended himself and gotten lesser injuries."

Minato smiled and nodded "I understand."

Then he made his way past Sakumo and gently picked Kagome up. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled closer to Minato, enjoying the warmth of his body. Minato looked at Sakumo, who had also scooped Kakashi up in his arms. "Well then, I'll be seeing you tomorrow at the Hokage office Sakumo-sama," he informed the White Fang softly. Sakumo nodded and Minato and Kagome were gone in a flash of yellow and black.

Sakumo looked at the spot where Minato had stood at for a few more moments before he made his way out of the kitchen, with the sole intention of putting Kakashi to bed.

Minato and Kagome appeared in their apartment in the next few seconds after they had left Sakumo's house. Minato silently navigated his way through the dark house, not bothering to turn on the lights. He entered Kagome's room and gently tucked her in snugly under the covers. Then he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Goodnight and sweet dreams," he whispered softly with a smile.

Then he used his Hiraishin no Jutsu to take him to the Hokage office, and he silently thanked himself that he was smart enough and marked the Hokage office in case he needed to speak with the Hokage in an emergency. But Minato could only hope that Sarutobi was still in the office.

* * *

Sarutobi was tired.

He had just spent the whole day doing nothing but paperwork and the only thing that he wanted to do now was to go back home and take a warm soothing bath. And for an added bonus maybe his wife could keep him busy for the rest of the night…?

But it seems that fate would not have it that way. For in the next moment, Namikaze Minato had appeared in his office in a flash of yellow.

And his unexpected entrance nearly made Sarutobi jump out of his seat in surprise. And for once, Sarutobi found that he had to agree with Jiraiya; sometimes Minato's Hiraishin no Jutsu could be annoying. Minato straightened himself up and he bowed his head in respect for Sarutobi. "Hokage-sama," he greeted in a respectful tone.

Sarutobi nodded and replied "Yes, is there any reason why you would be here on your day off Minato? I thought you would be at Sakumo's house to discuss about Kakashi?"

Minato nodded "Yes, I was there, and I had also brought Kagome along. I wanted her to bond with Kakashi. I hoped she could bring him out of his shell. But apparently Sakumo-sama didn't know that we were coming over so he didn't have any dinner provided. So I left with Sakumo-sama to buy dinner and we left Kagome and Kakashi alone. But while we were out something happened Hokage-sama. And I was hoping you could do something about it."

"Well what happened?" Sarutobi asked in a patient tone.

"Kagome and Kakashi were attacked by 5 civilians. And the injuries they sustained were serious. Apparently those civilians decided it would be interesting to send and endless barrage of rock at children half their age. Kagome and Kakashi managed to scare them away, and Kagome has even healed their injuries."

"Hmm…" Sarutobi hummed. "I see. And do you have their names?"

Minato nodded "I do. Takagi Keiro, Hashi Shimei, Takatori Mamoru, Namikawa Isshin and Inoue Sousuke," he recalled their names perfectly. "And Kakashi said that the reason they attacked him was because they were jealous of his abilities. But I do not think that it is so," he added.

"I shall see to it that those boys will be punished. You have my word Minato," Sarutobi told him seriously.

Minato smiled and bowed. "Thank you Hokage-sama," he replied in a grateful tone, but Sarutobi waved him off "I'm just doing my job Minato. So tomorrow morning I need you and Sakumo to bring Kagome and Kakashi to my office for some questioning. Then I will decide how serious their punishments will be."

"Oh, and remember to post some Ninja to watch those boys. I hope they don't try and run away or hide," Minato informed him with a creepy smile.

Sarutobi inwardly shuddered. 'Those civilian boys have absolutely no idea what trouble they've gotten themselves into when they decide to anger Konoha's Yellow Flash and Konoha's White Fang. I hope Sakumo and Minato won't scare them too bad tomorrow,' he thought dully to himself. Minato gave another bow and a cheerful wave before he disappeared in a flash of yellow.

Sarutobi sighed "But knowing those two, I'm afraid those boys won't ever look at Ninja the same way again…" he muttered dejectedly.

* * *

Thank you Music ADD, Ichigo Mirai, Mrs. Cullen of the West, invisible-gurl, raillelee, FairyTails13, Bradley McCloud, .., Crescent Silver Moon, ayashi77, Kagome Lady of Darkness, utoi, chibi-dono15, mia1837, JustWriter2, Akikazu, Reads-way-2-much, NineTailsFoxFan, yue no rei, kakashixangela, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan, -Yuna's Reincarnation-1, Crystal-Tsuki-Tenshi, crazy guard girl, Flame Chaos and Wolf, Lovelywitch, Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami, Nasuki- formally Orihime Girl, Anime Punk Kitty, enchanted nightingale, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, Rinda-chan, Kage Hasu, Vampire Miko 159, moosegirl13, Loodia LoveStar, zoey tamagachi, kinky-kitsune, Teldra, -black-hearted-diamond-, hentai18ancilla and ShioriHououEmaku for reviewing!

I'm so sorry!!! I know it's been more than a month since I updated, and not to mention this seems like a short and crappy chapter!

But my Mid year exams are on MONDAY and I have to study study study!! Not to mention I had a bit of a writer's block for this chapter. I'm a pathetic writer. Cause I can already work out what happens like say 10 years later but I'm stuck on writing the events that happens in those 10 years. And I'm coming up with things as I write.

But for the next chapter will be what happens in the Hokage office tomorrow. And if Kakashi will reveal the real reason why those boys attacked them.

I have no gurantee when my next update will be. But if a month passes and I still don't update, you can PM me all you want and request that I get my lazy ass back on my laptop so I can start writing for an update!

Please review!


	14. The Trial

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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Chapter 13: The Trial

Early the next morning, Minato and Kagome were already in the Hokage's office, waiting for the rest to arrive.

Minato was tapping his foot impatiently on the floor as his eyes kept on shifting to the clock. The hands on the clock seemed to be mocking him, for they were moving so slowly. Minato closed his eyes and sighed loudly, trying to figure out a way to make time go faster for him.

He finally settled on making some clicking noises with his tongue.

Sarutobi sat calmly behind his desk, smoking his pipe and looking through some mission reports. His eyebrow twitched in irritation as Minato continued to make those clicking noises with his tongue. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore it, but the noise was irritating. Finally Sarutobi lost his patience. "Minato, if you have nothing to do why don't you run around Konoha a few times instead of making that irritable racket?" he asked him dryly.

Minato turned slightly red and he apologised "Sorry about that Hokage-sama." Sarutobi rolled his eyes at the blonde haired Ninja and went back to his paperwork. But after a minute or two passed, there was that annoying clicking noise again.

"Minato!" the Hokage almost yelled.

The clicking almost immediately stopped again and was followed by a soft giggle, coming from Kagome. Sarutobi looked at Minato with his eyebrow raised in curiosity. "You have never disobeyed my orders before Minato, so why are you starting now?" Minato smiled sheepishly "I'm _really_ sorry Hokage-sama. It's just that I find it difficult to wait. I just want to…" his voice trailed off and Sarutobi helped him finish the sentence.

"You just want to punish those boys for hurting Kagome and Kakashi right?"

Minato nodded hastily and Sarutobi cracked a small smile. "I promise you that I will make sure those boys receive the punishment they deserve Minato, and I'm glad you and Sakumo didn't take matters into your own hands; that would only have complicated matters," the old Hokage told him.

Minato smiled and was about to answer, but there was a knock on the door.

"Ah, that must be Sakumo and Kakashi," the Hokage mused "Come on!" The door opened and in stepped Sakumo and Kakashi. Minato inwardly cheered and he heaved a silent sigh of bliss. '_Finally,_' he thought happily to himself. Sakumo and Kakashi entered the Hokage office and they bowed respectfully.

The Hokage cracked a small smile and he called out to the ANBU stationed nearby "You may get the boys now."

There was some movement outside and Minato sensed their chakra signals getting further from the Hokage office. That meant Sarutobi hadn't detained the boys yet… Minato almost cried out in despair when he realized that they had to wait some more before the ANBU could bring the boys here.

Darn it…He really hated waiting…

Kagome could sense Minato's frustration and she heaved a silent sigh, knowing it was best to leave him alone for a while. So instead of bothering her brother, she smiled at Kakashi "Good morning Kakashi-kun!" she told him cheerfully. Kakashi looked slightly flustered as he had never spoken much to girls before; so he did not know exactly what to say to Kagome.

He settled on nodding at her.

Everyone turned their heads to the door when it opened with a click. They expected to see the boys guarded by the ANBU as they entered, but the person standing there was someone they had not expected. Minato blinked in surprise as a name escaped his lips.

"Jiraiya-sensei."

The Toad Sage sent them a grin before he waved casually "Yo!" Kagome smiled and she waved back cheerfully at him while Kakashi's eyebrow twitched in irritation. He did not like Jiraiya much even though the Toad Sage and his father were very good friends. Let's just say Kakashi could not stand Jiraiya's perverse nature and his exasperating attitude. Minato was still looking at his teacher and a question popped into his head. He opened his mouth to ask his sensei, but Sarutobi beat him to it.

Sarutobi sighed and asked his student "What are you doing here Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya crossed his arms "What? Are you not happy to see your prized student Sarutobi-sensei?" Jiraiya ignored the dry look Sarutobi sent him and continued "Anyway, I heard about what happened last night and I so I wanted to come and give those little twerps a piece of my mind. Are the brats all right?" Jiraiya asked as he scratched his cheek, trying to disguise the blush that was forming. Minato inwardly smiled; he knew Jiraiya long enough to understand his behaviour. And right now he was worried for Kagome and Kakashi.

Kagome nodded "I'm all right now Jiraiya-sensei! And so is Kakashi-kun!"

Kakashi nodded curtly and they were interrupted by a knock on the door. The boys stepped in followed by the ANBU and Minato readied himself to give his darkest look at them. The five boys cringed in fear when they noticed the Yellow Flash of Konoha was sending a death glare at them and they felt nauseous when they felt the killing intent.

Sakumo did the same but those boys only tried to put on a brave face in front of him. They did not want to show the White Fang their fear.

Sarutobi sighed "Minato, Sakumo, stop that immediately. We're here to talk about their behaviour last night and work out a punishment for them, not to kill them," he informed them calmly. The killing intent stopped after a few seconds and Sarutobi smiled grimly "See that wasn't so hard was it?" he asked.

Then he turned to the boys and his face turned serious "Now you boys know why you're here right?"

Keiro crossed his arms and he looked like the leader of their little group. "No, Hokage-sama," he replied with an icy politeness. Sarutobi sighed and he indicated to Kakashi and Kagome "Yesterday night you boys attacked Hatake Kakashi and Namikaze Kagome and we are here to discuss about it." All of their eyes widened at the mention of Kagome's surname and they stared at her.

Isshin muttered in a disbelieved tone "She's related to the Yellow Flash?"

Minato pulled Kagome close to him and his eyes were cold "She's my little sister. And I will make your lives _hell_ for hurting her and my student." They shivered at the mention of Minato's threat and Sakumo joined in as well "I will also make your lives _hell_ for hurting my son."

Sarutobi held up a hand and looked at them with an annoyed frown "Calm down you two."

Minato and Sakumo saw Sarutobi's patience for their behaviour was wearing thin so they immediately shut up. Once Sarutobi was sure that they weren't going to interrupt again he turned his attention back to the boys.

"So what do you boys have to say for yourselves?"

Sousuke crossed his arms "How do you know it's even our faults? I don't see any bandages on the two of them so how can you say that we attacked them if they're not injured?" Then he indicated to the bandages on himself and all of his friends "But on the other hand, as you can see we are all covered in bandages because of him. So if you're looking for the ones that should be punished, then it should be Hatake because he was the one who threw his Kunai at us!"

Sakumo lifted up Kakashi's shirt to show the bandages around his son's chest "Is this what you call not injured? You broke a few of his ribs!" he said angrily.

Then Keiro spoke up as he glared at Sakumo "For all you know, they could be the ones who injured us in the first place and when we injured them we managed to distract them long enough to escape. Then they went and complained about us because they weren't happy we injured them!" Minato's temper was slowly going up with each lie the boys told. They were in the wrong and yet they still didn't want to admit it, even making up lies to cover up for their behaviour!

Oh how he longed to snap their necks…

"That's not true!" Kagome suddenly piped up. Everyone looked at her and she continued "We don't have a lot of serious injuries anymore because I healed them. But I don't have enough power to heal them all yet. I'll need to be older before my powers increase."

"How can you know medical Ninjutsu? You're just a little girl," Shimei stated snidely.

Kagome frowned "It's not medical Ninjutsu. I'm a high priestess in training so I have spiritual energy and I used that to heal our wounds. See?" Then Kagome demonstrated by taking out the special Kunai that Minato had given her.

"Kagome what are you going to do-?!" Minato began, but he was cut off when Kagome ran the Kunai over her arm.

Blood started to appear on her arm and Minato grew pale. "Kagome why did you do that?!" he yelled in a worried tone and started to fuss over her. Kagome just closed her eyes and held her other hand over the wound, not bothering to answer Minato. She concentrated and soon a pink energy was emitted from her hands. Everyone present in the room, including the ANBU watched in amazement as the bleeding stopped and the wound started to close after a minute or two. Once Kagome was satisfied it was fully healed, she stopped the energy flow and smiled at them.

"I told you I could heal wounds. So I healed ours last night," she informed them.

Shimei was silent as he contemplated on their next move. He gave a look to Keiro, urging him to say something because the things were not looking good in their situation. Keiro was silent for a moment as he tried to think what their next move was going to be. Finally a thought occurred to him.

"You stated that we injured them, and yet do you have any proof it was us? Do you have any witnesses?" he asked.

Minato felt his mouth go dry but he ignored the sensation and replied "We do not need any witnesses. When Sakumo-sama and I came home, we saw them covered in bruises from head to toe and bandages around their heads. Their clothes were stained with blood and they told us what happened."

Shimei smirked arrogantly "So you believe we did it all because they told you. You would rather take the words of two 5 year olds over five 15 year olds?"

Minato opened his mouth and closed it again multiple times because he was at a loss of words, making him resemble somewhat of a gaping fish struggling for air. Sakumo growled before he said coldly "Stop screwing around and admit it you brats!" the killing intent rolled off him in waves and everyone in the room shivered for a moment.

Mamoru crossed his arms and smirked "Temper temper White Fang," he taunted, apparently not bothered by the killing intent the White Fang was now unleashing.

Sakumo's growl grew even louder and even Jiraiya started growling. Sarutobi frowned at the two of them "Sakumo, Jiraiya, calm down…" After a moment he said "Jiraiya, why don't you take a walk with Sakumo around the Hokage office for a while to calm down? By the time you two get back this problem will be resolved."

Jiraiya opened his mouth to protest, but Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at his student "It wasn't a request."

The Toad Sage and White Fang sighed before bowing politely and exiting the room. Once Sarutobi was sure that Sakumo and Jiraiya were far away, he turned to the boys with a glare. Minato inwardly gulped; he could tell that Sarutobi had lost all of his patience and if the boys were smart enough, they would do as their told.

"Now, I am going to ask you all again about last night. And you had better tell me the truth," he warned them.

The boys straightened up at the sight of an angry Hokage but each tried not to look intimidated. "Look boys, I know each and every citizen in Konoha; it's a requirement of Hokage to know your people. So I know that you've got some friends and family who were Ninja right?"

The boys were now looking to the floor and neither wanted to respond to Sarutobi's question.

Minato's ears perked up when he heard Sarutobi use the word 'were'. Immediately all the gears started to turn in his head and he flicked a worried glance to Kakashi. '_So that explains why he wasn't willing to tell us why they were attacked last night,_' he thought.

"Now since you all knew a Ninja one way or another, you should also know that it would be unwise to lie to a Ninja if you are only a civilian. Minato, Sakumo, Jiraiya, the ANBU and I were able to tell that you boys were lying from the start since you all have not undergone any training at the academy whatsoever. And also, with Minato's and Sakumo's reputation, there was no need for a trial. We could have already punished you boys from the beginning."

The Hokage sighed and continued "But Sakumo was the one who suggested that we have this trial. I can already guess his intentions with this trial. He probably wants you to own up so your punishment would be lessened."

At this statement Keiro snapped his head up and looked at Sarutobi with wide eyes.

"Despite Sakumo's reputation as the Legendary White Fang; a cold hearted killer who slaughters in cold blood, he is actually a kind hearted man who loves Konoha. Even though you have severely injured Kakashi and Kagome, he proposed this trial to give you a second chance, and I hope you will not take his good intentions and step all over it," Sarutobi said with a small smile.

The five boys were now looking at each other with an unknown emotion in their eyes, and Shimei nudged at Isshin.

Isshin looked at his friends with a questioning expression, and all he received from them was a nod in return. He sighed and nodded before turning back to Sarutobi. "All right Hokage-sama," he said with a resigned sigh "I was the one who came up with this plan to attack them. I'm the mastermind behind all this. My friends were only following my orders."

"I helped come up with the plan too! We waited for days until the White Fang would finally leave his son alone and when the opportunity came we couldn't resist. But what we didn't expect was for his son to have a friend over. At first Isshin didn't want to attack her as well, so he told us to postpone the plan until another time. But I protested and convinced them that now was the perfect time to attack because his son might be weaker with her around," Keiro added as he looked at the floor.

Minato clenched his fists angrily and glared at them but he broke his gaze when he was aware of the small hands grabbing his own.

He looked down and was surprised to see Kagome holding his hands. She flashed him a toothy grin before she channelled her miko energy into him to calm him down. Minato sent a small smile at her before he unclenched his fists and took her hand into his own.

He was really thankful now that he had a sister like Kagome…

Minato perked his ears when he noticed that Sarutobi was handing out the punishments now. "On account that you are all underage, and the facts that you have owned up and are civilians, your punishment won't be too severe. I hereby sentence you to 100 hours of community service. And you are to also apologize to Kakashi, Kagome, Sakumo and Minato for your actions."

Shimei opened his mouth to protest because he did not want to spend 100 hours doing community service, and also to apologize to the White Fang and his son.

"I'm not apologizing to him or his son! No way in hell! I won't do it and you can't make me! It's the White Fang's damn fault that my parents died! Because he didn't complete that mission, my parents had to work harder to feed the family and they ended up getting killed on a mission!"

Isshin had a sad look in his eyes as he put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Shimei, we're already lucky not to get banished, so why don't we accept this…" he began, but was cut off. "Shut up!! Because of the White Fang, I became an orphan! Because of him, my life became a complete hell I don't care if you all forgive him and accept this punishment! But I won't ever forgive him!! And if you all forgive him, then you're all traitors! Because we all swore on the dead graves of our precious people that we wouldn't ever forgive him! But if you're forgiven him, then you're not my friends anymore!" Shimei yelled angrily.

Their friends looked shocked for a moment as they contemplated on their choice. They saw the images of their deceased beloved ones in their heads before an angry look crossed their face. Kagome shook her head and she said calmly "You should learn to forgive Sakumo-sama and forget about revenge."

Shimei glared at her "Shut up bitch, what do you know?" he asked her angrily.

Minato was gone from Kagome's side in an instant and the next he was halfway across the room, holding Shimei up into the air with his hand around his neck. Shimei spluttered and struggled over the lack of exhaustion but Minato ignored him.

"Don't you ever call my sister that," he hissed coldly.

The ANBU were by his side in the next instant and Minato relinquished his grip, letting Shimei fall to the floor, gasping for air. Then he calmly strolled over to Kagome's side again, but not before sending another death glare at the boys. Kagome decided to continue "You know, my whole clan was killed by a monster, and yet I don't hate the monster, neither do I want revenge."

Keiro blinked at her "Why?" he asked in a surprised tone "Is it because the monster is too strong?"

Kagome shook her head "Nope, it's got nothing to do with that," she said with a smile, before looking at Shimei straight in the eyes "I don't know much about you, but I can tell that you have a lot of hate in you. It's not healthy to have that much hate and if you keep on thirsting for revenge, it will only make you unhappy. Even if you have your revenge, there will be nothing but emptiness. You should learn to let go of your hate, and forget about revenge. My father always told me that the one who goes for revenge should dig two graves."

Minato's eyes grew wide '_My father said that?_' he found himself thinking.

"Vengeance is like having a videotape planted in your soul that cannot be turned off. It plays the painful scene over and over again inside your mind...And each time it plays you feel the clap of pain again...Forgiving turns off the videotape of pained memory. Forgiving sets you free but it does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future," Sarutobi decided to add his one piece.

Kagome smiled "Exactly," she agreed. "If you don't learn to forgive, you'll always be stuck in the past."

The boys were silent before slowly, one by one they started to admit forgiving Sakumo. But Minato frowned when he noticed that Shimei still had not said anything. "Well, what is your choice?" he asked Shimei in an impatient tone.

"I…won't forgive him…" he stated in a persistent tone.

Minato sighed "Now see here you brat-?!" he began, but Sarutobi cut him off. "Minato stop. It's all right," he said with a tired look on his face "You can't expect to help everyone." Minato sighed and nodded in understanding. "Very well," he replied sourly.

Seeing as this trial was officially over, the ANBU escorted the boys out of the Hokage office.

Kakashi decided to speak up for once. "Excuse me Hokage-sama," he asked in a polite tone. "Hmm…?" the Hokage hummed as he peered at Kakashi. "What is it Kakashi?" he asked, a curious look on his face. Kakashi hesitated for a moment, before he continued "Can I request that my father doesn't find out the real reason why they attacked us? I don't know and I don't want to find out what his reaction will be like. It might destroy him," Kakashi said seriously.

A surprised look crossed Sarutobi's face, before he smiled warmly "Of course Kakashi, you have my word," he promised.

Kakashi smiled behind his mask before he bowed respectfully. "Thank you Hokage-sama." Kagome walked over to Kakashi and she smiled shyly at him "I'm glad it all managed to work out Kakashi-kun," she told him sincerely.

Kakashi looked at her for a moment before he asked in a quiet voice "Why didn't you tell me about your family?"

Kagome blinked in confusion for a moment before she realized what Kakashi was talking about. "Oh, I wanted to put my past behind me so I didn't really think about them that much. I didn't think that it was that important for everyone to know that I had lost all my family members except for Minato-nii," then she smiled sweetly at him "But if you want to know more about my past Kakashi-kun, then I'll be more than happy to tell you about it."

Kakashi's face started to turn red and he immediately looked away "No, its fine," he said stiffly.

Kagome frowned at his weird behaviour but she broke into a smile again when she noticed Jiraiya and Sakumo walking through the door. Jiraiya whistled low when he noticed that the room was empty, so it meant that the trial had ended.

"Wow Sarutobi-sensei, you really finished before we came back, just like you promised," he said with a smirk.

The Hokage looked at his student tiredly "Of course Jiraiya. What type of Hokage am I if I can't even keep a promise to my people?" Jiraiya's smirk turned into a smile as he nodded in agreement "Yeah, you're right Sarutobi-sensei. So what were their punishments?" he asked.

"Well since they're under-aged civilians who admitted to their crimes, I sentenced them to 100 hours of community service," Sarutobi replied.

"Hmm…" Jiraiya hummed thoughtfully, before he realized what Sarutobi had said. What?!" Jiraiya yelled suddenly, which made Kagome jump in surprise. "Only 100 hours?! You should have given them something more severe Sarutobi-sensei!" he scolded before he nudged his friend "Right Sakumo?"

The White Fang held up his hands in surrender "Don't drag me into this Jiraiya. I will agree with whatever punishment Sarutobi-sama gives them," he replied honestly.

Jiraiya had an annoyed expression as he looked at his friend. "You're no fun…" he whined and crossed his arms. Sakumo and Sarutobi couldn't help but chuckle at Jiraiya's childish behaviour, and even Minato joined in the laughter. Jiraiya glared at his student "Shut up brat," he snapped before he turned to Sakumo "Although I can't help but say it's good to have you back Sakumo," Jiraiya said sincerely and he patted his old friend on the back.

Sakumo blinked for a moment before he smiled "Thanks Jiraiya."

The Toad Sage smiled before a thought crossed his mind. A smile made its way onto his face and Minato couldn't help but groan. Oh he recognized that smile; Jiraiya only ever smiled like that when a perverted thought crossed his mind. So what Jiraiya had planning now couldn't be good…

"Everyone, I had a wonderful idea," Jiraiya began, and Minato coughed out what sounded like 'Yeah right…'

Jiraiya ignored his student, but not before sending him another glare and continuing on "In celebration of the success of this trial, how about we all head down to a striptease club later and party all night?" he asked with a perverted smile. Sarutobi groaned and rubbed his temples, already feeling another headache coming along while Sakumo pretended to have not heard what Jiraiya had said. Minato glared at his teacher and Kakashi sighed in exasperation while Kagome turned slightly red.

Jiraiya noticed their reactions before he sighed "Fine, forget that idea…We'll go for ramen instead…" he mumbled.

"But I'm not the real pervert here. The real pervert is Sarutobi-sensei and his teachers because they were the ones that approved of striptease clubs opening in Konoha," Jiraiya added in a loud voice. Sarutobi turned red as he heard this. Kagome giggled at the Hokage's reaction and Kakashi rolled his eyes. Sakumo sighed at his best friend's proclamation while Minato shook his head.

"Konoha is run by perverts…" Minato muttered to no one in particular, but he managed to smile in spite of himself.

End chapter

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Thank you -black-hearted-diamond-, Crystal Tsuki Tenshi, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, Ichigo Mirai, enchanted nightingale, yue no rei, Lily887787, FairyTails13, Pissed Off Irish Chick, kakashixangela, Pure Iciness, Kage Hasu, zoet tamagachi, Lovelywitch, Anime Punk Kitty, Bradley McCloud, iheartanime43, chibi-dono15, Mrs. Cullen of the West, utoi, Music ADD, Rinda-chan, invisible-gurl, CrystalVixen93, ayashi77, kinky-kitsune, -Yuna's Reincarnation-1, JustWriter2, Natsumi-Tsuchi-Ookami, Flyingpotchan, Kagome Lady of Darkness, XXmistressdeathXX, Nasuki- formally Orihime Girl, Sugar0o, LaDy AkEginU, MikosWish, Rhianna224, kurai-rin-kitsune, Flame Chaos and Wolf, merlyn1382, Neko4, KITSUNE PRINCESS13, shadow-binder, A Forgotten Fairy. .AKA- Fairy and Yorukifon for reviewing!

Gah I can't believe that it's been a month. Well at least I updated. And I think that this is probably the longest chapter I have written for this story.

I apologize if the trial was nothing like you imagined and expected it would be. When I was creating those boys I never really thought about their character much, but after writing about them I couldn't help but sympathise with them.

I hope that you will see all of them boys aren't really that bad.

For your information, I had only written until Kagome explaining how she healed their wounds. But when I saw that today would officially be a month signifying that I haven't updated this story, I dragged my lazy ass back to the chair and started typing. I even skipped doing my homework and revision. Sigh now my head hurts like crap. But your reviews really make my day brighter, so that's why I keep this story going.

Please review!


	15. Happenings

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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Chapter 14: Happenings

A group of five were currently making their way through the streets of Konoha. They were all looking for a nice place to have lunch. The group consisted of Kagome, Kakashi, Minato, Sakumo and lastly Jiraiya. Unfortunately, Sarutobi had his Hokage matters to attend to so he couldn't come.

"Now where shall we go for ramen?" Jiraiya hummed as he walked down the streets.

Minato trailed beside him and his eyes wandered from stall to stall, finally landing on one Ichiraku Ramen. "I don't know sensei. How about we try that stall, the Kushina's always going to; I believe it's called Ichiraku Ramen? She says the ramen there is very good," Minato said with a dazed look in his blue eyes as he thought about the red haired tomboy stuffing her face with ramen. _That_ certainly had been a sight for Minato to see.

Jiraiya grinned as he watched his student "Oh really now?"

Minato snapped out of his stupor and he frowned "Yes really," he replied as he watched his sensei warily. Jiraiya still had that grin on his face but he couldn't help it damn it! It was so obvious that his student had a crush on her, and yet the blonde idiot was still oblivious to the fact.

"Are you sure that we're going there for the ramen? Or is it you because you want to see a certain red haired tomboy that you fancy…?" his voice trailed off suggestively.

A blush made its way on Minato's cheeks and he couldn't help but lightly whack his sensei on the arm. "Jiraiya-sensei!" he whined, and that was how the blonde student began his argument with his white haired sensei about liking a red haired tomboy. Jiraiya couldn't help but shake his head sadly at Minato's vehement cries of protest.

'_My stupid student is in denial…_' he thought with a resigned sigh.

Meanwhile…the three people who followed behind Minato and Jiraiya as they entered the ramen shop all had a sweatdrop at the back of their heads. Sakumo was shaking his head at his best friend's childish behaviour with a smile on his face and he was seemingly oblivious to all the dirty looks that some of the people sent him as they passed by. Kakashi was looking at his sensei arguing with his sensei dully and he muttered to Kagome, who was sitting beside him "They're behaving like a bunch of idiots."

Kagome smiled "True, but that's how they add life to other people's lives, including mine," she said thoughtfully.

Kakashi paused and he switched glances from Kagome and then to the two Toad Summoners still arguing for a few moments before he turned to face her again. "I still think that they're behaving like a bunch of idiots," he concluded.

Kagome laughed nervously at his statement. "Don't be like that Kakashi-kun; after all, Minato-nii is still your sensei and as his student you should have some respect for—Ah!? Kushina-san!" Kagome cried out happily, her conversation with Kakashi forgotten when she noticed the red haired tomboy opposite the stall in a weapons shop. Minato and Jiraiya stopped their arguing once they heard Kagome call out her name and there was still a blush on Minato's face; for the argument with Jiraiya about him having a crush on Kushina was still fresh in his mind.

'_Speak of the devil,_' the two simultaneously thought.

Kushina, who had been haggling with the shop owner over the cost of the Kunai, looked out when she heard someone call her name and when she spotted Kagome outside the ramen shop, she waved cheerfully at the younger girl before she strolled out of the weapons shop.

"Hey what about the Kunai?" the shop owner called out to her.

Kushina turned her head and the words spilled from her mouth without a second thought. "Ah screw the Kunai. I'm not buying them. I can get better quality Kunai at a much cheaper price at another store across town," she replied with a smirk, taking pleasure in seeing the annoyed and offended look on the shop owner's face.

Once Kushina was out of the shop she smiled sweetly at Kagome before she noticed a certain silver haired boy standing next to the young girl. The memories of that silver haired brat insulting Kagome back at the training ground replayed in her mind and an angry look crossed Kushina's face. She stormed towards the boy and the people around her shivered slightly because they could just feel the anger and the killing intent rolling off Kushina in waves.

Kagome looked hastily towards Kakashi and then to Kushina before she squeaked "Uh-oh," in a cute tone.

Kakashi didn't look the least frightened of Kushina and he instead continued to stare at her with a lazy look in his eyes. Sakumo however was a little wary about the killing intent and he walked out of the shop and protectively beside his son. Whoever this person was, he wasn't going to let his son get hurt again; not under his watch.

Once Kushina had reached them, she pointed a finger to Kakashi and growled "You damned brat!"

Kagome decided to do something because she didn't want Kushina to get hurt; she could sense the hostility in Sakumo and she knew that Kushina wouldn't stand a chance against a legend like the Konoha White Fang. So she stood up and in front of Kakashi, holding her hands up.

"It's all right now Kushina-san. Me and Kakashi-kun are friends now," she began.

Kushina's angry look changed into disbelief and she looked from Kakashi to Kagome. "You're friends with a brat like him Kagome-chan?" she asked in surprise. Kagome smiled and nodded "Yup! And Kakashi-kun isn't really a brat Kushina-san. He protected me when I got attacked and—" Kagome was cut off. "You got attacked Kagome-chan?! Who the hell attacked you?!" she yelled angrily and that was when she noticed the fading bruises on Kagome and Kakashi.

The protective elder sister instincts she felt for Kagome immediately kicked in.

"What the hell happened? Namikaze where the fuck are you?!" she yelled and within the next second Minato appeared by her side, looking quite nervous as he faced at the angry Kunoichi. "Yes Kushina?" he asked her in a frightened tone.

"Explain to me what the fuck happened to those two?!" she replied, indicating to the fading bruises that seemed to litter their skin.

And so Minato began explaining to Kushina what had happened the night before and also about the trial today, and when he was finished explaining, he inwardly braced himself for the scolding he was going to get from the red haired tomboy.

"What kind of a brother are you?! Letting Kagome-chan get hurt like that?! I thought you had that powerful Hiraishin no Jutsu crap of yours?" she shouted, her sea green eyes flashing in anger.

Minato seemed to sink deeper and deeper into the ground with each scolding Kushina threw at him. He wouldn't say it out loud; but her comments _really hurt_. Each word was like a dagger piercing his heart over and over again and the pain was unbearable. Minato knew that sometimes Kushina could go overboard with her words, but he made no attempt to stop her; because he fully well knew he deserved it. He had failed to protect his sister from getting hurt and she had even _bled _because of his incompetence.

So he just took her dressing down with his head facing down, his blonde bangs hiding his eyes and he tried to stop the tears that wanted to form at his eyes.

But he couldn't stop the tears from coming anymore when Kushina said "If you can't even protect your sister from a bunch of civilian boys, then you're certainly going to get Kagome-chan killed if it were your Ninja enemy that attacked next!" Kagome sensed the immense sadness and guilt in her brother so she was about to speak up when Kushina stopped her scolding. She also noticed Minato's quiet behaviour and she immediately felt the guilt growing in her.

"Namikaze?" she called him gently.

When she got no response she frowned in irritation, but it was then her sensitive ears picked up some soft patters; like the sound of water dripping. Her eyes immediately travelled downwards and she noticed that they were from Minato.

"Ah, you made him cry," Kakashi pointed out bluntly, but he was silenced when Jiraiya clamped a hand over his mouth. He put a finger to his lips, signalling for Kakashi to be quiet before he returned to his seat in the ramen shop and turned around, so that he faced the counter. He was giving them some privacy to work things out. Sakumo noticed his old friend's behaviour and he did the same. Kakashi sighed softly before he went in and also turned around, knowing that this didn't really concern him.

Kagome looked at Minato to Kushina before she smiled at the tomboy sadly. "You were too harsh Kushina-san," she said simply before she made her way to Minato. She stood in front of him and because she was short, she had to be on tip toes just to whisper into his ear.

And mind you, Minato already had his head down.

"And I don't blame you Minato-nii, so please don't cry," she whispered before she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a peck on his wet cheek, where she could feel the trails of tear marks. After she kissed him, Kagome waited for a minute or two before she smiled up at him; Minato had stopped crying. Then she retracted her arms from his neck and made her way back to her seat. The other people outside knew not to stare and even Teuchi had the common sense to ignore them and make his ramen silently.

That left Kushina and Minato to themselves.

But Kushina was at a loss; she didn't know what to say to Minato. She swallowed thickly before opening her mouth again. The logical thing that she could do now was to apologize. "Hey, Nami—Minato," she corrected herself, knowing that he loved it when she called him by his name "I umm, I'm sorry that I said all those things to you." She laughed nervously and her hand rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly "I guess I was too harsh on you. But you know that's how I get sometimes!" she added loudly, before closing her eyes and sighing.

That wasn't how she had wanted it to turn out.

"Look, I really care about your sister and when I saw all those injuries on her, I didn't know what came over me. I guess you can say that I acted before I could even think. So can you ever forgive me Minato?" she asked him sincerely and waited for a reply.

But Minato was still silent and his head was still down.

Kushina sighed deeply and she was tempted to just scream in frustration. Minato didn't even look at her! Even though he wasn't crying anymore, he was still upset because of all the harsh words she had yelled at him.

Kushina honestly didn't know how to cheer him up.

But when she remembered how quickly Minato had stopped crying after Kagome had kissed him and told him to stop, she inwardly gulped and a deep blush stained her cheeks. Did she seriously have to kiss him before he would cheer up?

Kushina looked at the depressed figure that was Minato before she made her choice.

As she made her way to Minato, she was screaming in her head '_Why me?! Why me? Why do I have to be the fucking person to kiss him?! Why? Why? Why?_' But apparently, another voice in her head told her in a sing-song voice '_It's your own fault. You were the one that couldn't keep your mouth shut. Now you're just paying the price. And don't lie to yourself. You want to kiss him right? You're just making use of this opportunity to kiss him._'

But it was ignored by Kushina.

When she was in front of Minato, her cheeks were still stained red while her heart was pounding like a drum and she hesitated for a moment. '_Gah, you owe me so much for this Minato, you'd better remember that!_' she thought furiously before she grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards her. She closed her eyes as she kissed him.

Square on the lips…

Minato's blue eyes seemed to bulge out his sockets the moment he felt Kushina's soft lips on his. He couldn't believe that she was kissing him!! Her! Uzumaki Kushina! And he also couldn't believe that he was kissing her back. And after what seemed like a century to him, even though it was only a few seconds, they broke apart the kiss and Kushina looked away, blushing madly. Minato gently traced his fingers over his lips where he could still feel the lingering effects of the kiss.

A blush slowly formed on his face and he mumbled out "Kushina…Why did you kiss me?"

The red haired tomboy refused to meet his gaze and she replied softly "What do you think I did it for? I wanted to cheer you up and I figured the best way for me to do it was to give you a kiss since you stopped crying after Kagome-chan kissed you."

"…" Minato was silent as he didn't know what to say.

Kushina glanced at him "You'd better appreciate it Minato because that was my first kiss and I used it on you," she mumbled to herself but unbeknownst to her Minato had picked it up. His face turned redder and he found his heart rate steadily increasing.

Minato found his world spinning out of control as he thought about it.

'_Her first kiss was used on me?_ _She kissed me because she wanted to cheer me up but she could have just kissed me on my cheek just like Kagome so why did she kiss me on my lips? Girls don't use their first kisses unless it's for the boys they have a crush on? So does that mean that Kushina has a crush on me?!_' Minato thought in alarm before his blue eyes flickered to Kushina, who was now heading into the ramen stall.

A few moments passed before Minato waved the thought off.

'_Nah, it can't be true. As if a great person like Kushina would have a crush on a blonde idiot like me,_' he thought with a disappointed sigh before he followed after her. When he entered the stall, he was immediately tackled by Kagome, who clung tightly to his leg.

"Oh Minato-nii I'm so glad you're not sad anymore!" Kagome chirped happily.

Minato smiled down at her and his eyes quickly flickered to Kushina, who was busy ordering a few bowls of salt ramen for herself once she heard that it was Jiraiya's treat. "Well Kushina apologized and then she did something that cheered me up," Minato replied gently. Kagome cocked her head to the side innocently and she asked "Exactly what did Kushina-san do to cheer you up? One moment I sensed that you were still sad and guilty about me getting hurt. And then the next moment you felt shocked, which later turned into pleasure."

Minato opened his mouth to reply her but then the memory of Kushina kissing him appeared in his mind again and his fingers instinctively went to touch his lips. The warmth and tenderness of the kiss still lingered in his mind and Minato remembered the soft texture of Kushina's lips and how sweet the kiss felt.

He turned a deep red as he recalled all that.

Kagome noticed the distant look in his brother's eyes and she smiled knowingly, already guessing what had happened. Deciding to give Minato his personal space, Kagome stopped grabbing on to his leg and she made her way back to her seat, with a wide grin on her face.

Kakashi glanced at her "Hmm…What are you so happy about?" he asked, trying to hide his interest.

Kagome giggled at him and replied in a singsong tone "Nothing…" before she went back to eating her ramen. Kakashi looked at her for a fleeting moment before he turned to Sakumo. "Chichi-ue," be began in a polite tone and Sakumo looked inquisitively at him.

He swallowed his noodles "What is it Kakashi?" he responded.

Kakashi jerked a thumb in Kagome's direction and asked "What is it with girls and their weird behaviours?" Sakumo looked from Kakashi to Kagome and pondered seriously for a moment before he shrugged "I have no idea. I could never understand your mother's behaviour even after being married to her for a few years. So that just goes to show that women and girls alike are mysteries that will never be solved by man. But I suppose you may find out why they have weird behaviour when you're older Kakashi," he finished.

And Kakashi just nodded to show he understood, even though he didn't really understand at all.

Meanwhile, Minato was still in a daze about the kiss so he didn't really notice a certain someone that had stealthily sneaked by his side. And the next thing he knew Minato heard a mischievous voice that sounded out beside him. "Oh my, did my idiot student actually get his first kiss?" asked Jiraiya with a knowing smirk on his face.

Hell had broken out in that very second he said that.

Minato reeled back in surprise, willing the blush that had currently evaded his cheeks to go away while Kushina had unceremoniously spat out her mouthful of ramen. She wheeled around, her face as red as a tomato and stormed over to Jiraiya and Minato. She grabbed Jiraiya by the scruff of his neck and yelled out in an embarrassed tone "What the hell did you say you Ero-sennin?! What kiss?!" and she inwardly hoped that Jiraiya would fall for her lie.

But of course he didn't.

"Why, what's there to be embarrassed about you two?" he asked with a frown, before he broke out into a smile "We should celebrate this joyous occasion!" Minato managed to snap out of his silent stupor and he followed Kushina's behaviour by grabbing on to Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya-sensei!! What are you talking about?" he stuttered out.

Jiraiya cast an analytical glance at the two before grinning at them like a Cheshire cat. "Oh, you two know exactly what I'm talking about…" his voice trailed off suggestively and he started to laugh like a maniac. All heads turned towards the three of them and Minato wanted nothing more then and there but to let the ground swallow him whole…Or perhaps killing his sensei first BEFORE the ground swallowed him whole…

'_Yeah, that sounded nice…_' he thought to himself, and unbeknownst to him Kushina had thought the same thing.

Minato and Kushina looked at each other and they both understood what the other wanted. They nodded in unison, and Minato used his fingers to signal to Kushina. One, two, three…and they both pounced on the Toad Sage, trying to silence him. Both Kakashi and Sakumo watched the brawl in amusement.

It appeared that Sakumo had no intention whatsoever to go and rescue his old friend from the clutches of Minato and Kushina.

Kagome finished her small bowl of ramen and then she turned around, watching the fight for a moment before her eyes widened as she sensed a familiar aura approaching. She jumped down from her seat and peeked under the folds of the ramen shop, smiling as she saw Kikyo walking by.

She was about to call out to her academy teacher but she paused when she noticed that there was something off with her.

Kikyo was dressed in her Chunin uniform and her hair was tied in a simple ponytail. Her hands were in her pockets and she had her usual emotionless expression on her face. To a normal person, it would seem that there was nothing wrong with Kikyo, but to Kagome it was not. She could sense the immense sadness in her academy teacher, and she didn't want to bother her teacher by asking her. So she merely watched Kikyo pass by the ramen shop and disappear in the crowds.

'_I wonder why was Kikyo-sensei so sad,_' Kagome wondered for a moment before she went back in the ramen shop.

End chapter

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Thank you yue no rei, Sugar0o, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, FairyTails13, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, .., zoey tamagachi, Pure Iciness, Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami, Lily887787, Ichigo Mirai, MikosWish, iheartanime43, kinky-kitsune, Yorukifon, Pissed Off Irish Chick, A Forgotten Fairy. .AKA- Fairy, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Bradley McCloud, Kage Hasu, kurai-rin-kitsune, utoi, Crystal Tsuki Tenshi, JustWriter2, Anime Punk Kitty, Lovelywitch, Music ADD, MoonlitCries, kakashixangela, 4get me not, shadow-binder, merlyn1382, -Yuna's Reincarnation-1, Taeniaea, livve101, RoseGlass, Dark lunar maiden, CrAzYmAnGa, hellstwilight, Shinigami Tenshi, isla1212, lil-lostii and CrimsonCherryBlossom814 for reviewing!

Okay a month and 9 days without an update…I'm terribly sorry! But I did still update so I hope you're all not mad at me. By the way Bradley McCloud, I finally followed your advice and wrote at my own pace, and although it took me longer than a month to update I found that it was easier to write.

So thanks for the advice^^

Hmm…There was a lot of emotions played in this chapter and while it may seem to blow out of proportion and Minato being quite OOC with the crying, but he was very guilty at himself for letting Kakashi and Kagome get hurt. And Kushina seemed to be a little harsh with her words. But at least they kissed! On the lips too!

Unfortunately, they will only become an official couple when Minato's Hokage, which is like 7 years later because of them both being in denial… T_T

Well I can say that after this chapter Minato will get a little more mature because he knows he has to grow up so that he can protect his precious people better. But don't worry, he will still have his silly personality that we all love. His personality will only become serious when he's out on a mission.

And I also realized that I made a mistake with his eye colour. Minato has blue eyes, but I got the shade of blue wrong.

I have a coloured poster of him and Naruto at home and when I looked closer I saw that his eye colour was lighter than Naruto's cerulean blue eyes. Minato's blue eyes is more on the lines of ice blue, the same colour as the manga Kagome! So I went through all my past chapters and changed his shade of eye colour.

The next chapter will be taking place a few months later, but I will try and get it up by 2 months the latest.

Please review!


	16. Worthless

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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Chapter 15: Worthless

It had all started with a cough.

It was early in the evening half a year or so ago and Kikyo was eating dinner with her little sister. Kaede was aged 7, with long black hair that reached to her waist along with the same black eyes that Kikyo had. The two sisters were making small talk while they ate as usual but Kaede started coughing out of the blue. She used a hand to cover her mouth while Kikyo patted her sister's back in a soothing fashion, trying to make the coughing stop.

When it finally subsided, Kikyo asked "Did you choke on your food Kaede?"

Her little sister shook her head "My throat felt a little itchy, that's all," she said before she smiled pleasantly. Seeing her expression, Kikyo decided not to think much about it. But Kaede's cough only got worse over the next few days and Kikyo knew that it was time to take her sister to the hospital the moment she developed a raging fever in the middle of the night.

At the hospital multiple tests were conducted on Kaede, even some of the painful ones, before the doctors could determine what was wrong with her. And while Kaede was being admitted into the hospital, the doctors pulled Kikyo aside and started to explain what was causing the young girl to be sick. Unfortunately, Kaede was suffering from Tuberculosis, or TB, and the doctor began elaborating in simpler terms so Kikyo would understand. And as he went on, Kikyo nodded to show she understood him.

Kikyo was already prepared for the worst when she knew that it was tuberculosis, but no amount of preparation could prepare her for the doctor's next sentences.

"If a person becomes infected with TB, there is a 90% chance that it will be a latent TB infection, meaning that they will not become sick or infect other people. Kaede had a latent TB infection at first, but unfortunately her latent TB has developed into active TB disease, and I'm afraid that because of it, she doesn't have much longer to live," he stated grimly.

Kikyo's eyes widened in shock "Are you sure?" she asked and at the doctor's nod, she felt her heart clenching painfully "Can't you do anything to treat it?"

He shook his head "TB is incurable and we can only administer medicine to prolong her life. Even with the most advanced treatment, your sister has a year to live, two at the most," he told her sympathetically. Kikyo's eyes were wide and she looked like she was in shock. The doctor decided to try and lessen her pain a bit "We'll try and make her last days as comfortable as possible… I'm really sorry," he added before he walked away, leaving Kikyo still standing there.

A full minute passed before reality finally set in for the raven haired woman. Her little sister was dying. Kaede was dying. And once Kaede died, Kikyo would be all alone. She and her sister were already orphans when their parents died, but now if Kaede died, she would truly be alone.

She didn't want that.

Kikyo slumped against the wall and sank to her knees, burying her face in her hands. What was she supposed to do now? What could she do? She could do nothing but watch as her sister wilted away before her eyes; and Kikyo really hated herself right now for that.

She was worthless…

The words stung her deeply, but she knew it was true. She really was useless; she couldn't stop her parents' deaths back then, and she couldn't stop her sister from dying now. Kikyo's black eyes shone with sorrow and her fists clenched tightly in frustration. It simply wasn't fair! Life wasn't fair! Why her? Why did it have to be her of all the people in the world? She didn't deserve to die this young! She still had a bright future ahead of her! So why did she have to suffer like this?!

Kikyo let a frustrated sigh escape her lips and she whispered "It was only a _cough_…" And yet it escalated into TB…

Kikyo buried her face in her hands again and she was sorely tempted to cry for the first time in years since her parents died. But she couldn't. She wouldn't. She shouldn't. Because she was a Ninja, and rule number 25 stated that Ninja weren't supposed to show emotions.

And also, she didn't want Kaede to see her sad.

Kikyo closed her eyes and she started to rein her emotions under control again. She still had to see Kaede after this so she had to put on a brave face for her. It would do no good for Kaede to see her sad because knowing her younger sister; she would be upset that her elder sister was sad because of her.

Kikyo stood up again and she straightened out her appearance for a few moments, silently telling herself to calm down before she headed for the ward Kaede was staying in.

She passed by some doctors and nurses that were friends of hers on the way to the Kaede's ward, but Kikyo didn't bother to greet them. Rather, she just glided past them and her friends at the hospital frowned in confusion at Kikyo's sudden detached behaviour.

They knew something must be bothering her but they decided to leave her alone.

Kikyo finally arrived at the ward that Kaede was staying in and as she was about to enter one of the nurses passing by stopped her. "Excuse me miss but if you want to enter this ward you have to wear a mask. This ward is for people with TB and we can't risk you getting infected."

And with that said she pulled out a mask from her pockets and handed it to Kikyo.

The raven haired woman paused for a moment as she stared at the mask with an unknown emotion in her black eyes before she took the mask from the nurse's hand and put it on. The nurse, now satisfied, turned around and resumed her duties of patrolling around the hospital. Kikyo pushed open the door of the ward and stepped inside. And her heart clenched at the sight of her sister lying on the hospital bed.

Kaede's face was pale and she had an oxygen mask over her face to help her breathe better. There was also a wet piece of cloth over her forehead and a basin of water placed on the bedside table, presumably to help lower her fever.

Kikyo winced when she noticed her sister's expression; Kaede looked like she was in pain.

Kaede opened her eyes blearily when she heard the door open and a tired smile crossed her features as she saw Kikyo standing by the doorway, although with a mask on her face. "Kikyo-onee-sama!" she greeted respectfully before she tried to sit up, pulling the oxygen mask off her face. The piece of cloth on her forehead fell to her lap but Kaede was still intent on getting up. Kikyo crossed the room in several graceful strides before she laid her hand on Kaede's chest "Don't get up Kaede. Lie down and rest okay?" she asked.

Kaede sighed before she nodded and lay back down on the bed. "Kikyo-onee-sama why are you wearing a mask?" she asked.

Kikyo pulled the oxygen mask over her sister's face before she took the piece of cloth from Kaede's lap. "I have to, otherwise I can't visit you," she replied. She then dipped it into the basin of water before pulling it out and squeezing it dry. Then she placed the cloth over Kaede's forehead again and she smiled sadly behind the mask as her sister blinked up innocently at her.

"Oh, you wear the mask because I might make you sick too…Onee-sama, when can I go home?" she asked.

"Until you're better again," Kikyo replied almost instantly; and she secretly wondered if the hospital would allow Kaede to spend her last days at home instead of the hospital…no…Kikyo wouldn't think about that now…

Now was not the time for thoughts about that…

"Then when I get better can you buy ice cream for me?" she asked shyly, and Kikyo couldn't decide whether it was the fever or embarrassment that made Kaede blush as she avoided her gaze. But Kikyo decided it was the latter as Kaede's blush only deepened as she met Kikyo's gaze for a moment.

"All right," Kikyo began slowly, and she watched with a heavy heart as a delighted smile lighted on Kaede's face.

Kikyo still found it hard to believe that in a month or two her little sister would die and she would officially be alone in the world. Kaede may have looked a little pale now, but other than that she still didn't look like she was dying. Kikyo didn't expect a sign in neon lights pointing to a person saying 'I am dying' but she did expect something more than a doctor's words telling her that her sister was dying. She secretly hoped that the doctor had mixed up the test results; so that Kaede really didn't have tuberculosis and that it wasn't killing her.

But she knew that that would never happen…

Her fists clenched tightly at the thought and Kaede frowned when she noticed her sister's behaviour. "Kikyo-onee-sama," she began softly, causing Kikyo to look at her "Are you all right?" she asked her and Kikyo replied "I'm fine Kaede."

"Then am _I_ all right?" she asked her elder sister with an unwavering gaze.

Kikyo's black eyes met her sister's black eyes, and she honestly couldn't decide what to tell her sister about her condition. Should she tell Kaede that she was dying, only causing her sister pain in the process or should she lie and tell her sister that she was fine, that everything was going to be all right, giving her false hope that she was really going to recover and live to see her next birthday?

She honestly couldn't decide…

Kaede noticed the turmoil in Kikyo's eyes so she smiled and said "You don't have to tell me Kikyo-onee-sama. I know I can recover because I want to recover. I want to go home and spend my evenings with you and eat dinner with you like we always do. I want to celebrate my birthdays with you and go to the festivals with you, just like we always do."

Kikyo blinked in surprise at her sister's statement before she smiled sadly behind her mask. _Thank you Kaede… _

"Now get some sleep and take your medicine okay?" Kikyo told her before she pulled off her mask and gaze her sister a kiss on the forehead. "I'll come and visit you everyday okay Kaede?" she asked and her sister nodded sleepily "I would like that onee-sama…" she mumbled before she closed her eyes.

Kikyo then stood up and without another word she left the room.

* * *

That was three months ago…

And like she promised, everyday without fail, Kikyo would always find the time to visit her sister in the hospital. Even when a new term started in Ninja academy, Kikyo waited until she got off from work before making her way to the hospital to visit.

There was never a day that she didn't turn up and Kaede always looked forward to her visit.

Unfortunately, when Kikyo requested for Kaede to be discharged from the hospital so that she could spend her last days at home, the doctors all filed their protests and disapprovals, saying that it was unsafe for the public if Kaede were to leave.

She might have spread her TB bacteria in the air and cause other people to get infected so Kikyo had no choice but to let her sister stay.

And Kikyo had already given up hope that the doctor had mixed up Kaede's results with another patients because every time Kikyo came to visit her, she would notice her sister's ashen expression and Kaede always seemed to be coughing. Sometimes she had even coughed out blood, much to Kikyo's worry. She constantly had a fever and sometimes breathing was so painful for her, she winced in pain with each breath she took.

She really was dying…

And despite her sister's suffering, Kikyo could do nothing but watch and pray for the painkillers to take effect. It was torture for her to come and visit her sister, knowing that each day her time in this world only got shorter and shorter; but she still continued to visit since she knew her visits made Kaede happy.

Kikyo was currently walking down the streets of Konoha, heading back home from another visit at the hospital.

She was not paying attention to where she was walking, but like a true Ninja, she managed to navigate through the busy streets on pure instinct alone without banging into anyone. There was the usual emotionless expression on her face and everyone, even the ones that knew her, might have said that Kikyo looked like one of those pretty porcelain dolls at the moment. They would even say that she was being her usual emotionless self.

However, as Kikyo walked past the Ichiraku ramen stand, there was one little girl inside who was able to tell that her sensei was very sad, although she didn't know why. She decided not to bother Kikyo and silently watched her walk by before she headed back into the ramen stand, joining her friends and family.

Kikyo on the other hand decided not to return home and she instead made a quick detour, heading for one of the small parks near her house.

She wanted to have some quiet time to think about what the doctor had said to her today but she didn't want to think in that empty apartment of hers. Without Kaede around, the usually warm and cosy apartment filled with laughter had become cold and quiet, and it was becoming quite unbearable for Kikyo to live in. She arrived at the park and walked to one of the most secluded areas there before sitting down on the stone benches provided.

Kikyo crossed her arms and she silently stared across at the green grass that was still sparkling wet with dew.

The most recent conversation with Kaede's doctor was still ringing in her head. The doctor had told her that even though Kaede was taking the medicine prescribed by the hospital, it was doing little to help her illness. And instead, the medicine was causing her health to decline even faster.

At this rate, Kaede would die in less than a month…

A frown marred her features and Kikyo used her hand to try and soothe the pounding headache she felt brewing right behind her eyes. She even tried to shut out the voice that she kept on hearing in her head, but so far with no luck.

_There was nothing she could do…There was nothing she could do but watch as her sister died…Nothing…_

A loud chuckle made Kikyo snap out of her thoughts and she watched with wary eyes as there was a man standing a few feet in front of her. How long had he been standing there? Kikyo didn't even sense his presence! The man was tall and handsome despite his pale skin tone, with long wavy black hair that was untied and reached past his waist.

Based on his attire, Kikyo could immediately tell he was not from Konoha…

"Is something the matter?" she asked him politely and the man smiled bemusedly "May I sit beside you?" he asked her and Kikyo didn't want to seem rude so she nodded. The man then made his way to the bench and he sat down beside Kikyo.

A few moments of silence passed between the two of them before he mumbled "Someone so beautiful should not be so sad…"

Kikyo raised her brow "And what makes you think I'm sad?" she asked him. The strange man shrugged and replied "I know everything." There was a mysterious glint in his eyes and it was then that Kikyo noticed he had an unusual eye colour; his eyes were a dark red in colour. Just looking into his eyes made Kikyo shiver…

Her instincts were telling her to run.

"Really? You know everything?" she countered and the strange man nodded "Yes, I do. Otherwise why would I know that your name is Kikyo and that you're upset because your sister is dying from…tuberculosis…am I correct?" Kikyo found her eyes widening in shock and she immediately stood up, drawing a Kunai from her weapon's pouch and placing it under the man's neck. And despite having a Kunai under his neck, the man looked positively calm and unafraid. In fact, he was smiling bemusedly at Kikyo.

"Why do you know these things about me?" she asked warily "Who are you? Tell me or I'll kill you!"

"Kill me if you can," he began, and judging by the tone of his voice, Kikyo knew he wasn't joking. "Relax Kikyo, I'm here to help you." This statement did not make Kikyo lower her guard around him although her curiosity was peaked.

"Help me?" she repeated.

"Yes," the man nodded "I know your sister is dying and that no one can save her. But I can. I can save the life of your little sister," he finished with a devious smile and while Kikyo knew she couldn't trust him, his offer to save Kaede's life was tempting.

"You can save her?" she asked and the man nodded again. "Yes."

"How do I know I can trust you?" she asked warily and the man shrugged "You're a Ninja; you can sense whether I'm lying about this or not." Kikyo frowned when she realized he wasn't lying "And if you still don't trust me, then it's too bad. But I'm your only chance. It's either you trust me and your sister lives or you don't trust me and your sister dies. So I am assuming that you're making the obvious choice in the matter? After all, what have you got to lose?" he finished again.

Kikyo didn't like the gleam in his red eyes… "And how much will it cost me?" she asked, knowing that if he were doing something no one could, the price would be extremely high. The man replied with an easy smirk "Nothing."

Kikyo blinked in surprise "_Nothing?_" she repeated.

"Allow me to rephrase. For the price of saving your sister's life, it cost's nothing… for ten years only. So meaning, after I save your sister, you get to spend ten whole years with her doing whatever you want. And after ten years, I'll return to settle the payment. How does that sound?" he asked.

It sounded positively tempting…although…

"What will the payment be when you return?" she asked him and the man smiled "Don't worry; it's not going to be money neither is it going to be sex. It's something really simple really and it won't even hurt you to know that it's gone," he said huskily.

"And what is it?" Kikyo asked but the man shook his head "You'll have to find out in ten years time…So what do you say to this little agreement?"

"Give me time to think," Kikyo replied but the man shook his head "Sorry, I leave town today so you're going to have to give me an answer now; yes or no, make up your mind." Kikyo remained silent as she stared at the ground and the strange man shrugged "Oh well…" before he turned to leave, a knowing smirk on his face.

And as he walked a few paces away from her, he heard Kikyo call out "Wait!"

He turned around to see Kikyo staring at him with a hesitant expression on her face "I'll make the deal…" she finally concluded. His smirk widened and he walked back to her side "Excellent, I knew you would see it my way," he replied.

"Do I need to sign a contract?" she asked.

The man shook his head "No, we seal the deal by making out." At Kikyo's blanched expression he shrugged "I didn't make the rules, I just follow them. Don't ask me who decided the way to make kissing the official way to seal the deal; it's been like that since our work first started."

"So you just go performing miracles and reclaiming the payment ten years later?" she asked sceptically and the man nodded "Pretty much."

"And how will you cure my sister?" Kikyo asked and the man frowned "Don't you ask a lot of questions…" he muttered under his breath. Kikyo only smiled icily "I have to make sure I'm not being ripped off by a strange insane lunatic."

The man smiled just as icily and he replied "Not bad…After you kiss me, your sister will be cured and I'll be gone. If you don't believe me, after you kiss me go to the hospital and you'll se the results of my work. The doctors won't be able to believe their eyes and they'll all be declaring it's a miracle," he sneered and Kikyo couldn't help but ask "So what are you exactly? You're obviously not human otherwise you wouldn't be able to cure my sister, as you so claimed."

The man's expression didn't waver "Patience, in a while your sister will be cured. As for what I am…I'm afraid I can't tell you that…" his expression was unreadable. "Then perhaps your name? I want to know the name of my sister's benefactor…" Kikyo summarized.

The man paused for a few moments before he replied "…Naraku…People call me Naraku…"

"Naraku…" Kikyo rolled the unfamiliar name off her tongue before she looked into his red eyes, noticing that he was staring at her with a hint of lust. And the next thing she knew she felt a pair of lips smash against hers while a pair of hands roamed across her body. At first Kikyo didn't know how to react but within the next few seconds she had started to kiss him back and the man named Naraku smiled as he continued to kiss the raven haired woman.

The deal had been made and there was no turning back for her…

At the Ichiraku Ramen Bar half a mile away, Kagome stopped eating and she turned her head around, looking outside the shop. Minato noticed her sudden behaviour and he swallowed his mouthful of ramen before speaking up.

"Is there something wrong Kagome?" he asked worriedly.

Kakashi, whose cheeks resembled that of a puffer fish's because of the amount of ramen in his mouth, also looked at Kagome with his eyebrows raised. The raven haired girl only stared outside for a few more seconds before she turned back to face her brother and her friend.

"It's nothing Minato-nii, Kakashi-kun, you can go back to eating," she replied politely.

"Hmm…all right then," her brother hummed before he resumed to eating his ramen while Kakashi turned back to his bowl and tried to swallow. Kagome stared at her ramen bowl with a frown on her face. She thought she had sensed a strong flare of demonic energy in Konoha but it had dissipated as soon as it had started so she couldn't be exactly sure. And if Kagome wasn't mistaken she would say that she had felt this demonic energy the day her shrine was attacked as well.

But…she couldn't be exactly sure…and she was probably just being paranoid.

After all…what were the chances of the demon that attacked her shrine coming to Konoha? From what Minato had told her, the Kyuubi no Youko was very big in size so it would have been obviously spotted by now. And also, Konoha had done nothing to offend it.

And with that mindset, Kagome resumed eating her ramen, trying to ignore the bad feeling bubbling in the pits of her stomach.

End chapter

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Thank you MogamiAmu, shadow-binder, Bradley McCloud, Pure Iciness, zoey tamagachi, yue no rei, Nasuki- formally Orihime Girl, Ichigo Mirai, Mrs. Cullen of the West, j.d.y., Kakashifangirlnumber1000, iheartanime43, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, Flames Chaos and Wolf, 3m1t4, Crystal Tsuki Tenshi, VirusYoukaiChild, Aashni, A Forgotten Fairy. .AKA- Fairy, -Yuna's Reincarnation1-, Shawntay117, kakashixangela, Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami, merlyn1382, JustWriter2, HPSLASHLOVER4EVER, StrawbellyJelly14, -BlackBird-21, Haru Inuzuka, Music ADD, 4get me not, kinky-kitsune, Reads-way-2-much, enchanted nightingale, yuyu4848, InuDemon Priestess, Holy Star, kurai-rin-kitsune, cowgirlkitten2000, Lala Shaknmu, lil-lostii, Loodia LoveStar, crystal wings5, KurouKageTenshiFreedomfromrule, Orihime-san, fierynightangel, panther73110, no, Kage Hasu, Blackmoon OniOokami, MikosWish, .-'Kagome no kawaii'-. and jessewolf22 for reviewing!

Wow… O.o 56 reviews for one chapter…

I live!!! I am SO SORRY!!! It's been 4 months and 1 day since I updated and I'm on my knees apologizing here. As a way for atoning for my horrible sin of not updating sooner…I've updated 3 stories at once.

'Tale of A Miko Kunoichi' and 'A New Leaf' and 'Love Actually'

I'm not one for excuses but I'm sorry I wasn't able to update sooner; it's just that I had the biggest writer's block in history for this chapter so it has a high possibility of being the crappiest chapter I have ever written because I wasn't satisfied with the way I wrote it…I must have rewritten it like over 20 times already…… Plus my secondary 3 end of year exams were in October so I had to study, even though it didn't do me much good... Well on the bright side it's my holidays and I'm officially an 'O' level student now.

I'll try and take a shorter time for the next chapter.

So about this chapter… does this explain why Kikyo is sad?

It may sound weird, but I enjoyed every moment of writing Kikyo talk with Naraku. The writer's block I had was only for the part where she didn't meet him yet. After that everything just flowed out.

I'm not telling what exactly was the price of healing Kaede that Kikyo had to pay. For those of you readers that watch '_Supernatural_' you know perfectly well what she did. In my own twisted way, this suits the whole theme of Kikyo and hell…

Yea I know I'm twisted…

For those of you who are wondering how this story came to be… I'm not exactly sure myself. I still find it hard to believe that someone like me could create something like this. Basically for Minato's sibling relationship with Kagome; I got inspired after watching Bleach. I find it strange since Bleach is like… and my story is like… total opposites from each other.

I think the idea for 'Tale of A Miko Kunoichi' appeared after I watched the episodes describing the beautiful sibling relationship Orihime shared with her brother.

And I recommend the song 'You'll be in my heart' by Phil Collins summarizing the relationship between Kagome and Minato. Yea that's about it *shrugs*

Please review!


	17. Graduation

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 16: Graduation

The sound of the bell reverberated throughout the academy, signifying that the lessons for the day were over. The kids in Kagome's class had already gathered their things in record time and they were standing in attention. Some were fidgeting with excited looks on their faces while others waited patiently for the teacher to dismiss them.

Kikyo, in the meantime, gathered her papers together before she stood up as well and said in a calm voice "Thank you class."

"Thank you Kikyo-sensei," they all chorused before scrambling for the exit. Kikyo smiled slightly and she shook her head over their behaviour. "Remember to do your homework, it's due on Monday," she called over the loud noise, hoping they would hear her. And as Kagome passed by, Kikyo remembered that she had something to discuss with the raven haired girl. Well actually the heads of the academy had something to discuss with her; Kikyo was only speaking in their place.

She called out to the girl "Kagome, stay back for a while please. I need to talk to you."

Said girl paused, her head tilting slightly in confusion before she nodded. She didn't know why Kikyo-sensei wanted to see her; was she in trouble or anything? It would be strange if she was because she hadn't done anything wrong since she came into the academy and her grades were always perfect.

But Kagome didn't complain and she silently got out of everybody's way, waving to her friends as they left the room.

Once every student except Kagome had left, Kikyo beckoned for Kagome to come closer. The young girl approached her and once she was close enough, Kikyo smiled warmly to show that everything was all right. "Kagome, I have something important to discuss with you, actually the school board are the ones who requested this. But before I fill you in on the matter, I want you to know that the choice ultimately lies with you. Understand?" she asked and Kagome nodded.

Kikyo took a small breath before continuing "For the past year since your admission into the academy, your grades and skills were closely being monitored by the school board. And after much discussion, they have decided to let you graduate the academy and become a fully fledged Genin."

Kagome's blue eyes widened in surprise "Really?" she asked breathlessly.

Kikyo nodded "Yes, your grades have always been the highest of the class and your skills far exceed those of children your age. We believe that there's nothing you can learn from this academy anymore so there's really no point in you staying here. So if you want to graduate you're going to have to take a graduation test arranged for you next week. Do you want to?" she asked and Kagome couldn't stop herself from smiling excitedly.

As she was about to give her answer, Kikyo cut her off "Before you decide Kagome, I want you to go back home, think this clearly and discuss it with your brother. You can then tell me your decision tomorrow. This is a big choice you are making; to graduate or not to graduate. With your amount of prodigal talent, I can say that you would become a Chunin a few years after your graduation but when that happens Kagome; are you prepared to be sent into battle?" Kikyo asked.

She then gazed calmly into Kagome's light swirls of blue "Are you prepared to kill?" she asked seriously.

Kagome bit down on her lip and she broke away from Kikyo's gaze, instead looking on at the floor. "Kagome, becoming a Ninja in times of war is not a pleasant thing. You have to be prepared for everything and be willing to do all that you are told; including taking the lives of others," Kikyo said softly. "The enemy won't hold back on you just because you are a child; they will treat you like any other Ninja from Konoha and kill you all the same."

"I know that…" Kagome mumbled softly.

Kikyo smiled grimly "Then you fully understand the consequences if you were to graduate?" The raven haired girl nodded slowly and Kikyo pursed her lips "Go home Kagome, and after you've thought about this clearly, I want you to give me your answer. Understand?" she asked.

"Yes Kikyo-sensei," Kagome replied before bowing politely and exiting the classroom, headed for home.

* * *

The walk home for Kagome was uneventful, to say the least. The raven haired girl didn't bother to take notice of her surroundings as she did everyday and she was instead focused on her previous conversation with Kikyo. She could graduate 2 years early and possibly be in the same team as Genma and Raidou, but that would also mean that she'd become a Chunin earlier. She would even have to take the lives of others if her mission required it…

"Do I have it in me to kill?" Kagome muttered to herself as she looked up at the darkening sky. But the only answer she got in return was the cawing of birds as they flew overheard. Kagome shook her head and smiled slightly; now was not the time to be thinking about this.

She had to wait until she got home so she could ask Minato.

With that mindset, Kagome quickened her pace so that she would make it back home before the sun went down. After a few more minutes of walking, Kagome reached the bottom of the apartment building and she started climbing the stairs.

She arrived outside the door just in time to watch the sun disappear behind the Hokage Mountain from the window at the staircase. Kagome dug through her pocket for her key and as she was about to insert it into the lock, the door clicked open and Kagome found herself staring into the masked face of Kakashi. She smiled brightly at him "Kakashi-kun!" she greeted enthusiastically "Nii-chan made you stay for dinner?" she half guessed.

The young prodigy nodded stiffly and he stated dully "I sensed you outside the door. And sensei's preparing dinner now."

He then stepped aside and Kagome entered the apartment, placing her bag down on the chair that was situated not too far from the door. Then she and Kakashi went to sit on Minato's favorite couch, making small talk about how they spent their day. But Kagome was careful not to mention anything about her Genin promotion just yet.

She would tell him and Minato after they have had dinner.

When she finished talking, a small smile appeared on her lips as she watched Kakashi talk animatedly about his day. Apparently, Minato was currently teaching him how to train on his nature element, which was lightning, and their training was progressing rather smoothly. Kakashi's mask was pooled beneath his chin and as he flashed a smile at her, Kagome blushed when she noticed at how cute he was; but nevertheless she still smiled back at him.

To think that a year ago Kakashi was such a sullen and uptight little 6 year old.

The trial had happened a year ago; and those boys never bothered the two of them again. Kagome supposed it was because they were afraid of incurring Sandaime's or Minato's wrath, or maybe it was because they had heard Kushina's threat of their disembowelment if they were to even step as close as 10 meters near Kagome, but she couldn't be exactly sure. Anyway, without any further troubles from them, Kagome was able to focus on her studies at the academy, which explained her early promotion offer.

And she had even gotten closer to Minato; she now called him 'Nii-chan' instead of 'Minato-nii' anymore, much to Minato's delight. Kakashi on the other hand was able to train as much as he liked with Minato while they both handled missions they received.

He was getting marginally stronger everyday and that was good enough for him.

He never admitted it out loud; but Minato was a fantastic teacher. He was perceptive about things and very few Ninja could match up to his analytical abilities. A few years down the road and he would be one of the pivotal Ninja in Konoha.

But Minato still couldn't compare to his father, Kakashi thought stubbornly, not wishing the grant his teacher too much credit.

Speaking of father, ever since Kagome visited, Sakumo's depression seemed to be gradually getting better. He moped around the house less and sometimes Kakashi would chance upon him doing things around the house; from fixing the broken fence to scrubbing the graffiti off the walls.

Once Kakashi had even spied on his father practicing with his tanto…

But despite the mass improvement in his father's mental state, Kakashi, Minato, Jiraiya and even Sandaime had believed that it was too soon for Sakumo to be rejoining the ranks as an elite Jounin of Konoha. It was far too soon…the people in Konoha were still discriminated about him and the four of them didn't want Sakumo to suffer a relapse in the midst of his recovery.

The results would be disastrous and it would be very difficult to get him on the path of recovery again.

Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts when Minato announced that it was time for dinner. Together he and Kagome made their way to the table and helped Minato set it before they all sat down; this was not the first time that Kakashi had stayed over and ate at Minato's house and it certainly wasn't going to be the last. He kept quite during dinner and only spoke when spoken to, more interested in listening to the conversation that Kagome and Minato were having.

"Umm…Nii-chan I have something to tell you…" Kagome said shyly, staring at her hands. Minato frowned as he munched on his food "What is it Kagome?" he asked after he had swallowed; he had a bad feeling he wasn't going to like what she was planning to tell him.

"Kikyo-sensei made me stay back for a while after school ended today, and…she told me I could graduate."

With that said she glanced at the two of them from the corner of her eye and carefully watched their reactions. Minato had gone pale and he was staring at her with a stupefied expression while Kakashi merely looked surprised.

"…And do you want to graduate?" Minato asked her after a few moments of silence.

Kagome finally looked up to meet his eyes and Minato couldn't help but notice how determined his sister looked; and also how cute she looked. Damn, she was really going to be a beauty when she grew up; meaning he would never be bored because he could chase away all the men that were after her.

"I do. I really do want to become a Kunoichi," she told him confidently and Minato cracked a small smile; he couldn't find it in his heart to refuse her even though he wanted to.

"Kakashi, what do you think?" he asked, turning to his student. Kakashi's eyes flickered from Minato to Kagome and he paused when he noticed the girl's slightly worried expression trained on him. Did she think he was seriously going to stop her?

It wasn't his business to interfere in her choice so he wasn't going to.

"I think we should let her become a Kunoichi sensei," the 7 year old finally said and he watched with amusement as Kagome let out a sigh of relief "I become a Genin when I was 5 so I can't see why she can't become a Genin at 6. She's got skill so you can expect her to take care of herself when she's on a mission," then he stopped and looked Kagome seriously in the eyes "But let me ask you, if the time comes, will you be able to take another's life?"

She didn't flinch or look away "I've thought about that question for the whole day since Kikyo-sensei told me. And here's my answer; if the time comes then I'll do it, I'll take another person's life. But if there is a chance that they don't have to die, then I won't kill them. That's my Ninja way."

Kakashi's expression didn't change but Minato smiled at her statement.

"That's my girl," he told her fondly before reaching out and ruffling her head of black hair. Kagome giggled and she silently waited until he pulled back his hand before she asked him a little curiously "So does that mean you'll let me graduate?"

Minato nodded "Yes, you'll get to graduate."

Her eyes widened at this "Really?! Oh thank you Minato-nii!!" she called him out of habit and Minato pouted "Nii-chan," he corrected her "Call me nii-chan." His eyes trailed around the room for a moment before he looked at his sister again "Kagome, but before you become a Kunoichi I want you to understand something. Try not to catch the attention of the elders and Danzou with your skills; they're the bunch of people I prefer buried six _hundred_ feet under."

Kakashi laughed silently under his breath at that.

"The three of them are cold blooded strategists and they will resort to anything to ensure the victory or the safety of Konoha. So they will not have any qualms about sending children to the front lines or on dangerous missions if they believe the children can handle it," Minato paused and he looked her seriously in the eyes. Blue met blue and he said "I do not want you to be one of those children Kagome, do you understand?"

She nodded seriously and Minato's serious expression turned pleasant again "Good."

* * *

Kagome went back to school on the following day and she informed Kikyo of her choice. She wanted to become a Kunoichi, no doubt about it. Her teacher had only smiled mysteriously at her answer before she left Kagome in the classroom and went off to inform the other teachers. Kagome waited patiently for them to return and when they did 10 minutes later, she straightened up her posture and greeted the other four teachers that arrived with Kikyo.

They smiled back at her and each took a seat at some student's place while Kagome stood near the teacher's table.

"We want you to perform a Henge," they told her and Kagome nodded. A henge wasn't a problem for her. The only problem was that who could she change into? She contemplated for a few more seconds before it occurred to her. She did the respective hand signs and after the puff of smoke cleared the examiners were greeted with the sight of Jiraiya grinning impishly back at them. "So did I perform it right?" Jiraiya asked in Kagome's voice and Kikyo cracked a small smile.

Trust Kagome to think of something like that. Every teacher in the school knew how Jiraiya looked like for different reasons; the men idolized him for is fearsome reputation while the women scorned him because of his perverted tendencies.

"Very good," Kikyo replied and 'Jiraiya' grinned before he changed back into Kagome.

Kikyo looked to the other teachers for their choices and once they nodded in confirmation Kikyo smiled and turned back to Kagome. "After a unanimous decision we have decided that you pass Kagome. You are now a Genin. Congratulations."

Kagome smiled brightly as one of the teachers tossed her a Konoha Hitae-ate and she gladly tied it around her head.

The other teachers started to leave the room and only Kikyo stayed behind. "I expected your answer to be a yes Kagome and I also expected that you would pass the exam with flying colours. So I took the liberty of informing your new Genin team about their new teammate. They should arrive soon so please wait here with them for you new Jounin sensei to come," she told the girl politely before she headed for the door.

Kagome did not call after her or stop her and she only sat down with one thought on her mind; who were her new teammates? Would they like her? Would they hate her for graduating so early? Will their new teacher like her? Was he going to be Minato?

All these thought buzzed through Kagome's head and she was so lost in them she didn't notice the two Genin that stealthily made their way towards her. She didn't notice their arrival until one of them had wrapped their arms around her waist from behind and pulled her close. Kagome squeaked in surprise and her first instinct would have been to fight back but the sound of familiar laughter made her stop from fighting back. She slowly turned her head around and looked up to see Genma's grinning face.

"Genma?" she questioned and looked to the other person beside her friend "Raidou?"

He nodded back at her with a small smile of his own. "We're pleased that you're in our team Kagome. When Kikyo-sensei told us about it we couldn't believe it and Genma wouldn't shut up about it," his small smile turned into a full grin and Genma huffed in annoyance as he retracted his hands. "I thought you promised you would tell no one about that," he muttered with a light blush on his cheeks.

Raidou shrugged "I had my fingers crossed at the time."

Kagome smiled back at them, glad that she had managed to keep her secret promise to catch up to them. "Do you know when our sensei is going to turn up?" she asked them curiously and Genma shrugged "Who knows? We've never even met the guy yet."

Kagome blinked in confusion and Raidou replied "This is our first time meeting him as well."

"Our team was originally complete," Genma continued from there "We had three Genin; Raidou, me and some other girl also with our sensei. But while we were out of Konoha on a mission, our team was attacked by a group of enemy Ninja because apparently sensei was a rather well known Ninja. Me and Raidou managed to escape, but sensei and our other teammate…you know…" his voice trailed off and there was a faraway sort of look in his eyes.

"So the Hokage assigned us a new sensei and a new teammate; which happens to be you," Raidou said with a smile.

"And your new sensei happens to be me," a gruff sort of voice called out from the doorway and the three Genin immediately turned to the door. They blinked in surprise at the strange looking person that claimed he was their new teacher.

He had long silver hair that spilled past his waist and surprisingly it was untied. His eyes were unique; molten amber in color.

He was dressed in a regular Jounin outfit, although his Hitae-ate was rather unique. He had fashioned it to a bandanna of some sort and tied it around his head like a bandanna. Kagome could see the sharp canine teeth he had as he smirked at them and she could distinctly make out how sharp his fingernails appeared to be. But one thought ran through her mind more than his strange appearance did. He had a strange aura and it took her a moment to recognize it. Her eyes widened in surprise; their new sensei was a _demon._

He smirked at them "Name's Inuyasha."

* * *

Thank you jesswolf22, Ichigo Mirai, j.d.y. ,Aerro, Inochi N- f.O.G, ShadowLover18, fbfh and nk, -Yuna's Reincarnation-1, Sinistera of the Akatsuki, yue no rei, Sapphire Destiny Rose, kakashixangela, Music ADD, Haru Inuzuka, Kagome Lady of Darkness, Akatsuki-cloude, XxKuragari-no-KagexX, dgames, kurai-rin-kitsune, bloodbutterflies, DarkShinzo, JustWriter2, o0KittyBlue0o, Peaceful Dragon Rose, Regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan, kinky-kitsune, xbabiixbabox, Lovelywitch, T, MikosWish, AKARY YAMI, blueyedevil586, Squeaker and Paint-In-Color for reviewing!

Wow...Almost 6 months this time. I really ought to die for making you wait like this.

Now the story is officially kicking because Kagome is finally a Kunoichi! I'm sorry if this chapter seems a little rushed and Kagome's time at the academy seemed a little short because well I just realized I needed to speed things up a bit otherwise this story is going to last a very long time without getting anywhere. So please excuse the year timeskip in this story!

And for those of you who guessed Inuyasha was the sensei kudos to you!

Although I have to address one misconception that some of you seem to be getting. Naraku is NOT the Kyuubi. He will never be. Naraku is just a demon, not tailed beast. And his job is to go around the world tempting people into making deals with him for 10 years, like what he did with Kikyo.

Also, Naraku is going to be one of the major villains for Kagome even though he isn't going to be making an appearance any time soon.

Hopefully the next update should come a little quicker because I know what to write. Inuyasha's going to be giving them a test; they have to work together to make him fall to the ground and it isn't as easy as it seems since Inuyasha is currently one of the best Jounin Konoha has to offer. And this is where the infamous rosary is going to come into play. XD

If you're curious, you'll gradually find out more about Inuyasha's past as the story progresses.

Please Review!


	18. The Making of the Rosary

Tale of A Miko/Kunoichi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I also do not own Inuyasha and I highly doubt that I ever will. These two great Manga and Anime series belong strictly to their creators. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Chapter 17: The Making of the Rosary

Genma was the first to react.

"Inuyasha?" the strange sounding name rolled off his tongue with uncertainty "What kind of a name is Inuyasha? A female dog demon?" he questioned rather bluntly, staring at their new sensei in unabashed curiosity. Raidou groaned silently beside him. Genma had positively no respect for _anyone_; I mean he was talking to their new _sensei_ for heaven's sake. And as their sensei, that man had the power to make their lives a living hell if they ever crossed him wrongly.

Raidou whacked his friend at the back of his head before pushing Genma's head down, making him bow as an apology to the silver haired man. "I apologize for this guy's sake, Inuyasha-sensei," he began rather smoothly "Genma's the type of guy to talk before he thinks."

Raidou ignored Genma's outcry of 'Hey!' and acted as if he hadn't heard it "I hope you're not offended."

Inuyasha only smirked in open amusement "Not really. I get that from the other people all the time. But you," he looked Genma right in the eyes, "are quite an interesting brat; no one's ever said that to my face before. I only hear them gossiping about it amongst their little groups; bunch of cowardly bastards…" he muttered the last part out. "And for your information, my name is broken down as 'inu' for dog and 'yasha' for forest spirit, not a freaking female dog demon," he explained, looking quite annoyed.

Why did people always assume his name meant female dog demon the first time they heard it? Couldn't they have any brains in the least to assume the other meaning it could possibly have? Oh damn his father to the seven hells for naming him that! He'd never had an easy life as a child, and the name only made things worse…

Genma smiled sheepishly at the man "Ehehe… I'm sorry Inuyasha-sensei."

Inuyasha scoffed and crossed his arms, taking some time to examine his new students. He could tell the boys were both all right in terms of personality and scent; they didn't smell like bad children. And Sarutobi had also told him that they had some experience in the field because they had already been Genin for a year.

But the new girl on the team… not only was she so much younger than both of the boys in her team…she had only graduated today.

And while it was commendable that she had completed the 3 year academy course in 1 year, still…she didn't really have any experience on the field; which meant that the whole team would have to be stuck doing the D-rank missions for the time being.

Damn it…

If there was something that was the bane of Inuyasha's existence, then it would be D-ranks missions. They were extremely boring missions that lacked action and strategy. The missions were simply too easy for a ninja of his caliber to even bother supervising. Inuyasha grumbled under his breath at the prospects of doing stupid D-rank missions again. He was pretty sure now that Sarutobi Hiruzen enjoyed nothing more than fucking with him.

Why else would Sarutobi assign him a Genin team out of the blue?

Inuyasha had not taken a Genin team in _decades_, because all his previous students described him as having a nasty temper that was to be feared. Also, he was hard on his students and wouldn't tolerate failure. He was hard on failure. And he hated kids.

So why the hell would Sarutobi assign him a team?

Inuyasha could swear to god that Sarutobi still bore a grudge against him because of the hard times Inuyasha gave him back when they were kids. Well Inuyasha couldn't help it! He was possessive of his precious people and it was that damned Sarutobi's fault for stealing away two of his most important people!

Always hogging their attention…making them spend all their time with him instead…making them estranged from Inuyasha… stupid Sarutobi…

Inuyasha's grumbling grew louder and his new students fidgeted uncomfortably at their sensei's strange behavior. Finally…Inuyasha stopped his mumbling and he gave each boy a once over again but he paused in surprise when he finally looked at his newest female student in the face.

'Kikyo,' was the first thought that came to Inuyasha's mind.

That new girl resembled Kikyo more than he could have imagined and she could have even been mistaken for the older woman's sister. But Inuyasha knew that Kikyo only had another sister, Kaede. And besides, Inuyasha noticed that this girl had a totally different color of eyes from Kikyo; her eyes were ice blue while Kikyo's were of the darkest black. Anyway, as he continued to stare at her, a frown appeared on his face when he noticed that the girl was staring at him with a peculiar expression in her eyes.

It was almost as if she knew what he _was_…

Nah, Inuyasha shook his head lightly. It was probably just his imagination. With that assurance in mind, Inuyasha made his way over to the front desk and leaned casually against it. "So…" he drawled out lazily "Now that we're all here, I'd like you three to introduce yourselves to me."

Genma scratched his head "What do we say?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and resisted the immense urge to sigh. "I don't know, let me think about it for a sec," he muttered and he paused to remember what it was that two of his previous sensei had asked him to reveal. Ah…he remembered now.

"How about your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future and stuff like that?" he asked with a cocky smirk.

* * *

When the three genin were done speaking, Inuyasha stretched his arms over his head, feeling the kink that had built up at the base of his neck disperse with a loud crack. "Ah…" he sighed softly in satisfaction before turning his attention back to his students.

"Right, now that that's over with…" he began.

"Umm… Inuyasha-sensei?" Genma called with uncertainty. Inuyasha stopped talking and gestured for Genma to continue. The genin glanced at the floor; he felt slightly uncomfortable being the sole recipient of his sensei's piercing amber eyes. "…You haven't told us about yourself yet, so the only thing we know about you is your name. Since we've told you about us, I think it's only fair if you tell us about yourself. Isn't that right, Raidou? Kagome?"

The other two genin looked slightly surprised to be suddenly included in the conversation, but nevertheless, they both gave their sensei a nod.

Inuyasha blinked at his new team before a slow smirk made its way on his lips. He had a feeling in his gut that somehow this team here was going to be very different from all the previous teams he had taken in the past; because for one thing, not one of his previous students had dared to ask him to tell them about himself.

And speaking of which, he also didn't feel like telling them about himself. But still… he thought as he stared into those pair of pleading brown eyes…

He sighed; another reason he didn't like kids…he was a sucker to the pathetic looks that they gave him… "Fine then. My name is Inuyasha and I like to eat ramen. My favorite ramen is Tonkotsu Ramen. I dislike having to eat other foods other than ramen. My hobbies… practicing my swordplay," _stalking Kikyo, _"eating different kinds of ramen and taking walks on the rooftops. My dreams for the future… to get my sweet revenge on that damn Saru and to make sure he remembers to never fuck with me again…"

"Who's Saru?" Raidou asked curiously.

Inuyasha shot him a look "Not anyone you need to know. So, now that we've got finished all the introductions, I'll brief you on what's going to happen tomorrow. You all know that after you pass the academy, there's an extra test to make sure you stay a Genin right?"

Everyone nodded, and he continued on.

"Well technically I can't give that test to you three because you two," he indicated to Genma and Raidou, "passed that test when you graduated last year while you," he pointed to Kagome, "graduated early so the higher ups must have decided that you're already good enough to be a ninja. So for tomorrow, I'm going to test you three on how well you work together. You all have to use teamwork to try and get me to fall on my back when you fight me, because I don't think any of you could possibly defeat me," he said with a cocky smirk.

"You're a strong Jounin then Inuyasha-sensei?" Kagome piped in curiously.

"Yeah. I don't mean to brag but I'm one of the strongest Jounin in Konoha. Even the Hokage is in awe of my power," he declared proudly before he realized they had gone off topic. He cleared his throat "As I was saying, for tomorrow, you're going to meet me in Training Ground 3 at 9am to see if you three can work _together_ to knock me on my back. If you can't do so by noon, then for the next few months, you're going to experience _very_ vigorous training with me until you three become totally in sync with each other," he said in an overly sweet voice.

"Is that clear?" he asked, a dangerous glint in his amber eyes which made the three genin involuntarily shiver.

"Yes sensei," they chorused and the dangerous glint vanished. "Good! I'm glad we've reached an understanding. Now you three can head home and rest for tomorrow or you can stay back here for a while to discuss how you're going to beat me; it's up to you. But I'm leaving now," and with that said, he headed for the doorway and held up his hand as a wave of goodbye.

A minute or two passed before Genma finally decided to speak.

"Sooo…how are we gonna beat him tomorrow? You heard the guy; he said he's one of the strongest jounin in Konoha! How the heck are we supposed to make him fall on his back? I think before we can even touch him, he'll have us tied to the stump!" he groaned loudly "Oh we're sooo gonna fail the test…"

Raidou rolled his eyes "Genma you're overreacting. And has it ever occurred to you that Inuyasha-sensei may have been bluffing or bragging about his abilities?"

Genma paused to consider that possibility but before he could get his hopes up, Kagome shook her head at them. "He's not bluffing." _Anyone who's a demon with a humanized form is already powerful, but to be a Ninja, and a Jounin as well…that guy's strength is no doubt unbelievable… _"And please don't ask me how I know about that, I just do, okay?" Kagome actually didn't mind explaining the concepts of demons, mikos and auras to her new teammates.

Only, she didn't think they would be pleased to know that their new sensei was a demon. And now that she had spent more time with the guy, she could pick up from his aura that he wasn't really a demon, but a half demon. Although exactly what type of half demon, she still wasn't sure.

Anyway, Raidou and Genma didn't look that satisfied with her answer, but they nodded nonetheless.

"So what do we do now?" Raidou asked softly "If what you say is true, then we three are most certainly unable to make Inuyasha-sensei fall on his back." He winced and looked at both of his teammates sympathetically "It looks like we're going to have a very taxing few months ahead."

Genma groaned even louder.

Kagome on the other hand kept glancing around, trying to find something that would help jolt her mind in coming up with a plan. When her eyes landed on a necklace tied around a mannequin in the room (that mannequin was there to remind Genin that they shouldn't keep necklaces or other accessories around their neck because if they did, then the enemy might grab them and pull, and that might result in death by strangulation) an accessory from her miko days appeared in her head; it was an accessory powerful enough to overwhelm her sensei.

Kagome smiled; she had a plan.

She turned to her teammates; one who had been groaning all the way and the other who had been sighing in despair. "Guys I have a plan. Tomorrow I need you two to distract Inuyasha-sensei as much as possible so I have time to prepare and if my plan works, we're passing the test. Can you do that for me?"

Genma looked to Raidou silently, and after a moment the two nodded. "Sure we can. But what are you preparing for?" Raidou asked curiously.

"It's a surprise. You'll just have to wait and see," Kagome said with a mysterious smile that made both Genma's and Raidou's hearts beat involuntarily faster in their chests. Heck, Genma even had a hard time swallowing after that. "I have to get back now and prepare, so I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow then," she continued on, oblivious to her teammates' reactions.

She gave them a cheery wave before she ran out of the classroom, leaving behind two confused genin in her wake.

* * *

After leaving the academy, Kagome had run like the wind instead of her slow and usual pace so she had managed to reach home in record breaking time. Minato, on his blessed day off, had been snoozing on his favorite couch when the door slammed open.

He was so surprised he fell off the couch in a tangle of sheets.

"Minato-nii! Kagome yelled out of habit before running towards him, and Minato, who had successfully untangled himself from his blanket, looked at her in bewilderment. "What's wrong Kagome-chan?" he asked her worriedly "Did something go wrong with your test?"

Then he paused to consider "And I told you to call me Nii-chan, didn't I?"

"You did, but sometimes when I'm really emotional I forget. And no, my test went really well. I passed and I have my Hitae-ate now, see," she said, pointing to it before continuing "Nii-chan, do you know if there are any shrines in or near Konoha? I need to get some important materials for something!"

Minato blinked "And what is that something?"

"A rosary! I need to get beads to make a rosary in order to pass my test tomorrow. And the answer is no, I can't just get any plain old beads for the rosary. It has to be made from special beads from the shrine otherwise it won't work! So do you know where the nearest shrine is?"

"Hmm…" he hummed "The nearest shrine would be a few days away I'm afraid."

Kagome gave him a look of despair but that look slowly dissipated when he continued speaking. "But I've placed one of my markers at the Fire Temple. Is that all right for you?" he asked with a gentle smile and Kagome nodded enthusiastically.

"That's fine too," she replied "Can we go there now?"

"Uhh…wait until I get dressed properly first Kagome," Minato told her sheepishly, which made her cock her head cutely to the side and look at her brother closely. Now that she had calmed down enough, her mind could process exactly what her older brother was wearing; an undershirt that did little to hide the muscles her brother had underneath and on his arms complete with a pair of boxers that had little frogs printed on them.

She flushed crimson and averted her eyes, focusing on anything that wasn't her brother's body. "Oh…err okay… S-so I'll wait for you here then Nii-chan," she stuttered and made her way over to the couch. Minato grinned as he went to his room to get dressed.

His sister was so cute sometimes!

* * *

When Minato came back fully dressed in his Ninja gear, Kagome was still waiting for him on the couch.

"Ready to go?" he asked, sounding excited at the prospect of visiting the Fire Temple again. Previously, he wasn't really welcomed at the Fire Temple because of…let's say…ah… the certain deeds that a certain man that was related to Minato was known for.

That's right; Jiraiya's perverted habits and adventures always caused quite the amount of trouble for Minato no matter where he went. Damn the man.

Kagome stood up and she waited patiently for Minato to pick her up and once she was safe and secure in his arms, they disappeared faster than the blink of an eye. They reappeared at the Fire Temple in the middle of the Monks' Training Grounds, causing quite a stir at first when the monks believed them to be enemies.

But once they saw Minato's blonde hair, along with his Hitae-ate, they weren't so hostile anymore.

"Ah, if it isn't the Yellow Flash? What brings you here to our Temple?" the head monk there asked, with an uneasy grin that was barely noticeable, plastered on his face. Minato noticed though and he resisted the urge to moan in frustration.

Damn his sensei!

"I need a favor actually," he replied neutrally, his face not betraying the emotions he felt inside. He put Kagome on the ground and she closed her eyes, taking in everything around her without the use of her eyes. The scent of incense and the feel of pure energy tickled at her senses; it felt like she was at the shrine again.

"A favor?" the head monk questioned "And what would that be?"

Minato indicated to Kagome "It's my sister. She wants the favor actually. Go on; tell him what you want." Kagome opened her eyes again and she looked up, tilting her head curiously to the side as the head monk assessed her.

"Do you have the suitable beads for making a Kotodama no Nenju(necklace of subjugation)?" she asked him.

The head monk's face broke out in surprise. "A Kotodama no Nenju? How do you know about it?"

"I was trained as a priestess in a shrine, and I learned about it during one of my lessons. So do you have the beads? I need to finish making the rosary as soon as possible," she finished, staring at the head monk in concentration.

"You can make the rosary? By yourself?" at her nod he continued "Just where did you train at?"

"If I tell you, will you let me have the beads then?" she asked, looking completely serious which was strange for someone so young. Minato held up his hand to his face to hide his smile. Meanwhile, the Head Monk paused, considering her request. "Hmm…" he hummed thoughtfully, staring right into her ice blue eyes. "That would depend on your answers to these questions. Which shrine did you train at and why do you want the beads to make something as powerful as a Kotodama no Nenju."

"I trained as the next High Priestess for the Higurashi Shrine before its destruction," Kagome began, causing some surprised murmuring to break out in the crowd that had surrounded them "And I need the Kotodama no Nenju in order to make sure my loved ones are protected from harm."

The Head Monk broke out into a friendly smile when he saw neither hesitation nor deception in those piercing blue eyes.

"You have a good look in those eyes… Very well then, I'll give you the beads. Bansai," he called out to one of the senior monks present "Get the beads from the altar and give them to this young girl. I dare say those beads will be more of use to her than to us."

The monk Bansai nodded before walking off to retrieve the beads.

Minato on the other hand would have burst out into happy tears then and there when he had heard Kagome's second answer. But he had been mindful of the crowd present so he had refrained himself from any…overreactive or overemotional behavior.

He just settled on ruffling her hair. "That's my girl," he declared proudly, which caused Kagome to smile and blush at the praise. "That's my girl…"

* * *

By the time they got back from the Fire Temple it was after sunset.

That left very little time for him to cook so Minato decided to take his sister out to dinner. He turned to his right, about to ask her where she wanted to eat but he was surprised to find her gone. He then heard her yell from her room that she wasn't going to eat dinner before the door slammed.

Minato could only blink.

Meanwhile in her room, Kagome made sure she was seated comfortably on her bed before she dumped the rosary beads in front of her. She dug through the mountain of beads for the string and once her hand found something long and thin amongst the pile, she grabbed hold of it.

Now that she had the string to hold the beads together, it was time to make the rosary.

Kagome sighed deeply and closed her blue eyes, trying to recall her days back at the Higurashi Shrine. One fine day several years back she recalled being taught by her teachers about rosaries and how to make them. But, she thought with a frown, it seemed her time spent in Konoha made her memories at the shrine a little rusty. It took some effort to remember the method, but when she did remember, she only sighed harder.

The method to making the rosary was both time consuming and tiring because it needed excellent energy control on her part. Kagome would be surprised if she didn't manage to pass out from using too much miko energy after completing the rosary.

But still…she needed it in order to pass the test… among other things.

For example, she could use the rosary to subdue their new sensei if he were to ever become a danger. Sometime during the day, Kagome had concluded that even though Inuyasha-sensei was a demon, it didn't necessarily mean he was an evil demon but still…it was better to be safe than sorry. Kagome had her precious people to protect, mainly Minato, Kushina, Sakumo, Jiraiya and Kakashi; and she would be damned if she ever let anything bad happen to them that was still within her control.

So with that thought in mind she started to get to work.

She grabbed a bead, laced it through the string and then she channelled a small precise amount of miko energy through it. Once the bead was filled with her energy, she muttered an inaudible incantation under her breath that lasted for a few minutes. When that was done that single bead glowed a pure white for a few seconds before it returned to its normal dull brown colour. She took a look at the clock on the wall; just preparing that single bead took roughly 6 minutes and she had 58 more beads to go.

Kagome sighed again as she picked up another bead.

The hours passed as she tediously worked on the rosary and it was after midnight when Minato finally decided to check in on her with some snacks in tow. He carefully balanced the tray laden with food on one hand while he knocked on the door.

After waiting for a while and hearing no reply on the other side, Minato opened the door quietly and poked his head in. He had expected to see his sister in bed fast asleep because she had not answered his knock, and so he was surprised to find her still sitting on her bed, muttering some strange sounding incantation. He could clearly feel the pure energy that his sister emitted now that the door was open, and Minato had to admit that it felt soothing to his soul.

And as a Ninja, Minato knew better than to interrupt someone when they were in the middle of a spell or Jutsu because concentration was absolute; who knew what could go wrong if the person was distracted? An explosion perhaps? Minato was never going to forgive himself he caused it to happen on his sister.

So he decided to wait until she was done before he did anything.

A white glow enveloped the room for a few seconds before it receded and Minato heard Kagome sigh in relief. She then turned to face him and Minato dropped his jaw in shock when he saw how tired and pale his sister was. He had almost dropped the tray in his hands as well but fortunately he had managed recollect himself before he did.

"Kagome-chan are you all right?" he asked worriedly.

She smiled weakly "Yeah. 'm fine. Jus' used too much energy is all. 'll be fine after a good night's sleep," she mumbled tiredly. Minato placed the tray on the dressing table in her room before he made his way to her bed. He gently helped her get under the covers and as soon as her head hit the pillow, Kagome found herself unable to keep her eyes open. The last things that she felt was a gentle hand stroking her head and a pair of warm lips pressing against her forehead.

"Sweet dreams," she heard her brother whisper softly before the darkness finally claimed her.

* * *

Thank you Never Ending Nightmares, Jacob's Reneesme, kakashixangela, kostevc96, Sapphire Destiny Rose, Ichigo Mirai, yue no rei, Lady Favonian, Miko-

of-The-Cherry-Blossoms, YumeMori, Sess8Kag, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, MoonPrincess1989, Sable Scribe, jesswolf22, Yorukifon, Lovelywitch, Paint-In-Color, fierynightangel, Peaceful Dragon Rose, mangalovah07, Blackmoon OniOokami, zoey tamagachi, XxKuragari no KagexX, kinky-kitsune, Bishonen'sFoxyMiko, sexy midnight miko, CrystalHeart27, j.d.y. , how does she do it, Music ADD, -Yuna's Reincarnation-1, Obscure Stranger, SammyKoru, 4get me not, Kagome Lady of Darkness, deathgeonous, hermonine, whit, CrimsonXue, AKARY YAMI, Snow246, Blood Butterfiles, Dark Neko 4000, tsukigomori helel, cherry-888, Kage Hasu, lovelyanimeangel, isla1212, Black-Alice-Stars, Guardian Sakura, Elfgurl96, LilChicken Wings, Eternal Cosmic Sailor Saturn, alphaprincess0803, massengale77, merlyn1382, Shiki Rhys Nightwind, YunaNeko, KaggyAlucardSesh and ShadeofOrange for reviewing!

Soooo...as stated on my profile, I managed to get this done before December. Now I'm hoping I can say the same for 'Love Actually'. Well the good news is my accursed 'O' levels are finished so the updates might come sooner than the stupidly slow update schedule for this year.

I was going to put the test in the same chapter, but then I wrote too much on how the rosary got created so I had to split it in two. The rosary shall be used in the next chapter.

Also, for those of you who haven't been keeping up with the Naruto Manga, the revelations in the latest chapters about Kushina I certainly wasn't expecting. So yeah, this fic is clarified as AU now because the Kyuubi is still rampant in this fic.

Okay before I end this note I was wondering whether I should publish a drabbles collection of Kagome and Inuyasha-_sensei_ from this fic which focuses more on their growing bond and on Kagome asking Inuyasha questions that comes to her mind about his background. What do you think?

Please review~


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